THE  MODERN  CITY 
AND  ITS  PROBLEMS 


BY 

FREDERIC  C.  HOWE,  PH.D. 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  CITY:    THE  HOPE  OF  DEMOCRACY,"  "THE  BRITISH  CITY:    THE 

BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY,"  "PRIVILEGE  AND  DEMOCRACY  IN  AMERICA," 

"WISCONSIN:  AN  EXPERIMENT  IN  DEMOCRACY,"  "EUROPEAN 

CITIES  AT  WORK" 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  BOSTON 


CorrBioBT.  1015.  BY 
CHARLES  BCRIBNER'S  SONS 


TO 
LINCOLN  STEFFENS 


PREFACE 

IN  so  far  as  this  volume  carries  a  message  it  is 
that  the  American  city  lags  behind  the  work  it 
should  properly  perform.  It  is  negative  hi  its  func- 
tions, rather  than  positive  in  its  services.  It  has 
been  stripped  of  power  and  responsibility.  It  is 
politically  weak  and  lacks  ideals  of  its  possibilities. 
It  has  so  little  concern  for  its  people  that  they  in 
turn  have  little  concern  for  it.  AVe  have  failed  to 
differentiate  between  those  activities  which  are  pri- 
vate and  those  which  are  public.)  (We  have  failed, 
too,  to  provide  protection  to  the  individual  from  in- 
equalities of  power  and  position,  and  have  left  him  a 
prey  to  forces  as  dangerous  to  his  life  and  comfort 
as  those  against  which  the  police  are  employed  to 
protect.  Further  than  this^e  have  failed  to  shift 
to  society  ^e  burdens  of  industry  which  the  com- 
ing of  the  city  has  created.  We  have  permitted 
the  sacrifice  of  low  wages,  irregular  employment, 
and  disease  to  be  borne  to  the  individual  rather 
than  by  the  community  £  Those  who  suffer  from 
these  conditions  are  in  reality  a  vicarious  sacrifice;  a 
sacrifice  which  society  has  no  right  to  accept^ 

These  conditions  can  only  be  corrected  by  a  pro- 
gramme of  city  building,  of  city  service,  through 


vi  PREFACE 

compulsory  co-operation,  or  socialization.  To  this 
co-operation  there  are  no  set  limits.  But  for  many 
years  to  come  the  city  will  continue  to  increase  its 
activities  and  enlarge  its  services.  This  is  the  lesson 
of  the  past;  it  is  the  promise  of  the  future. 

Further  than  this,  I  have  dissented  from  the 
opinion  that  the  trouble  with  the  American  city  is 
with  the  American  people,  with  the  idea  that  we 
are  neglectful  of  politics,  are  too  partisan,  too  tol- 
erant of  evil.  It  is  assumed  that  we  have  willingly 
abdicated  our  responsibilities  and  turned  the  city 
over  to  the  professional  politician  as  an  easy  escape 
'  from  the  burdens  involved.  t_This  is  the  personal 
interpretation  of  politics.  It  is  somewhat  on  a  par 
with  the  assumption  that  the  slave  is  responsible 
for  his  chains,  the  serf  for  his  servitude,  the  sweat- 
shop worker  for  his  poverty.. 

The  conditions  describeoT  are  results,  not  causes. 
Neglect,  partisanship,  tolerance  of  evil  are  traceable 
back  to  legal  institutions,  to  constitutional  and  po- 
litical limitations,  under  which  we  have  been  com- 
pelled to  work. 

Finally,  this  book  is  written  from  the  inside  of 
the  city.  It  is  a  study  of  t  at  work;  of  the 

problem  as  seen  by  the  official  animated  by  a  desire 
to  promote  the  city's  achievements  and  realize  on 
its  possibilities.  This  study  is  the  result  of  many 
years  of  service,  in  the  city  council  of  Cleveland,  on 
tlu  city  finance  commission,  as  a  member  of  the  tax 
commission,  and  in  the  State  senate.  It  is  the  re- 
sult, too,  of  intimate  knowledge  of  many  American 


PREFACE  vii 

cities,  of  contact  with  reformers  and  politicians,  of 
studies  of  municipal  conditions  in  Germany,  Eng- 
land, Austria-Hungary,  and  Switzerland,  and  of 
personal  acquaintance  with  the  officials  of  these 
countries.  It  reflects  the  view-point  of  the  men  who 
are  doing  things,  and  striving  for  things,  rather 
than  of  those  who  analyze  the  city  from  the  out- 
side. It  accepts  the  new  note  in  city  politics,  which 
is  democratic,  constructive,  and  social. 

FREDERIC  C.  HOWE. 

NEW  YORK,  December,  1914. 


CONTENTS 


PA  OB 

PREFACE       v 

CHAPTER 

I.    THE  CITY  AND  CIVILIZATION 1 

II.    THE  ANCIENT  CITY 9 

III.    THE  MEDIEVAL  TOWN 24 

~~  IV.    THE  MODERN  CITY 34 

-N  V.    THE  AMERICAN  CITY:  ITS  SUCCESS  AND  ITS  FAIL- 
URES       50 

VI.    THE  CITY  AND  THE  STATE 66 

VII.    MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE 76 

VIII.    THE  CITY  CHARTER 86 

IX.    RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES 97 

X.    MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION  IN  GERMANY   .     . 

XI.    MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN-   .  132 

XII.    THE  CITY  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION-  149  \ 

*>  XIII.    MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  AMERICA 165 

' 

XIV.    MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE 176 

XV.    CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA   . 194 

\ 

XVI.    CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE 211 

ix 


X  CONTEXTS 

CHAPTER  FAOB 

./ XVII.    POLICE,  FIRE,  AND  HEALTH  PROTECTION     ...  231 

XVIII.    THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY 25^ 

XIX.    THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM 273 

XX.    MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE 289 

XXI.    RECREATION  AND  THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE   .     .  305 

XXII.    THE  CITY  BUDGET 

XXIII.  NEW  SOURCES  or  Cnr  REVENUE 346 

XXIV.  (  ..MLUBION 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 377 

INDEX  .  385 


THE  MODERN  CITY 
AND  ITS  PROBLEMS 


THE  MODERN  CITY 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  CITY  AND   CIVILIZATION 

THE  city  has  always  been  the  centre  of  civilization.  ' 
Civilization  does  not  exist  among  a  nomad  people. 
In  sparsely  settled  regions  it  is  only  rudimentary. 
Even  to-day  in  the  rural  districts  it  does  not  pro- 
gress beyond  the  simplest  forms. 

The  great  epochs  of  civilization  have  always  coin- 
cided with  a  highly  developed  city  life.  This  was 
true  of  Athens  in  the  time  of  Pericles,  of  Rome 
during  the  early  empire,  of  Italy  during  the  Renais- 
sance. It  was  true  of  the  Netherlands  and  of  Ger- 
many in  the  Middle  Ages,  when  liberty  came  to  life 
after  centuries  of  disorder,  just  as  it  is  true  of  the 
last  fifty  years,  which  coincide  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  modern  city. 

With  the  city  came  education,  culture,  and  a  love 
of  the  fine  arts.  They  only  exist  under  an  urban  en- 
vironment. For  education  and  the  fine  arts  come 
with  leisure  and  accumulated  wealth,  which  in  turn 
are  city-born. 

Science,  invention,  industry,  are  also  urban.  They, 
too,  depend  upon  the  division  of  labor  and  the  wealth 

which  such  division  makes  possible.    They  involve 

1 


2  TIIE  MODERN  CITY 

the  harnessing  of  power,  the  conversion  of  coal  and 
water  into  steam  and  electricity,  as  well  as  the  spe- 
cialization of  activities  and  talents,  which  are  only 
possible  under  urban  conditions.  And  the  larger  the 
city  and  the  more  minute  the  specialization,  the 
greater  the  co-operation  and  the  more  easy  the  pro- 
duction of  wealth. 

The  City  and  Co-operation. 

The  city  had  its  beginnings  with  co-operation,  with 
mutual  help.  This,  with  the  division  of  labor,  made 
civilization  possible.  Co-operation  began  when  one 
man  tended  the  fields  and  another  went  to  war. 
Others  produced  the  tools  with  which  the  farmer 
tilled  the  soil  and  the  soldier  protected  the  state. 
Exchanges  followed.  The  products  of  the  field  and 
the  shop  found  their  way  to  the  agora,  or  market- 
place. Community  began  to  trade  with  commu- 
nity. This  was  the  beginning  of  commerce.  Surplus 
wealth  made  its  appearance,  which  enabled  soci 
to  support  teachers  and  artists. 

Taxation  was  introduced,  which  enabled  the  di- 
vision of  labor  to  be  carried  still  further.  This 
marked  the  beginning  of  compulsory  co-operation. 
Then  many  services  became  accessible  to  all  that  had 
previously  been  confined  to  the  few.  Streets  and 
highways  facilitated  the  transportation  of  goods,  and 
this  widened  the  life  of  the  community  still  furt! 
A  standing  army  was  provided,  which  relieved  many 
men  from  the  necessity  of  carrying  arms.  This 
widened  freedom  and  increased  the  productiveness 
of  labor  and  the  time  devoted  to  peaceful  pursuits. 


THE  CITY  AND  CIVILIZATION  3 

Taxation  is  one  of  the  greatest  agencies  of  civilized 

life. 

Co-operation  Only  Possible  in  City. 

It  was  not  possible  to  develop  co-operation  to  any 
appreciable  extent  under  rural  conditions.  It  is  not 
possible  to  this  day.  There  is  almost  as  wide  a  gulf 
between  the  routine  life  of  the  ranchman  of  Dakota 
and  the  clerk  of  New  York  as  there  is  between  that 
of  the  farmer  of  to-day  and  the  husbandman  in  the 
times  of  the  Pharaohs.  City  life  for  even  the  poorest 
is  socialized  to  a  wonderful  extent.  And  as  society 
changes  from  the  country  to  the  town,  and  from  the 
town  to  the  great  city,  the  element  of  co-operation 
becomes  more  and  more  important.  It  involves  a 
change  from  the  doing  of  all  sorts  of  things  by  each 
individual  to  the  doing  of  many  things  by  the  com- 
munity and  the  consequent  freeing  of  the  individual, 
so  that  he  may  pursue  his  own  calling  and  enjoy 
his  own  leisure.  Co-operation,  according  to  Prince 
Kropotkin,  is  a  law  of  progress  even  in  the  animal 
world.  In  his  Mutual  Aid  he  says:1 

"Life  in  societies  is  the  most  powerful  weapon  in 
the  struggle  for  life — enabling  the  feeblest  insects, 
the  feeblest  birds  and  the  feeblest  animals  to  pro- 
tect themselves  from  the  most  terrible  birds  and 
beasts  of  prey.  It  permits  longevity;  it  enables  the 
species  to  rear  its  progeny  with  the  least  waste  of 
energy;  it  enables  gregarious  animals  to  migrate  in 
search  of  new  abodes. 

"Therefore  combine — practice  mutual  aid — that  is 
the  surest  means  for  giving  the  greatest  safety,  the 

i  Pages  57  and  75. 


4  THE  MODERN  CITY 

best  guarantee  of  existence  and  progress,  bodily  and 
intellectual  and  moral. 

"The  species  in  which  individual  struggle  has  been 
reduced  to  its  narrowest  limits  and  the  practice  of 
mutual  aid  has  attained  its  greatest  development  are 
invariably  the  most  numerous,  prosperous  and  open 
to  progression.  Mutual  aid  allows  the  attainment 
of  old  age,  the  cumulation  of  experience,  higher  in- 
tellectual development,  etc.  The  unsocial  species  on 
the  contrary  are  doomed  to  decay." 

The  city  can  only  live  by  co-operation;  by  co- 
operation in  a  million  unseen  ways.  Without  co- 
operation for  a  single  day  a  great  city  would  st; 
still.  Without  co-operation  for  a  week  it  would  be 
brought  to  the  verge  of  starvation  and  be  decimated 
by  disease. 

The  city  has  destroyed  individualism.  It  is  con- 
stantly narrowing  its  field.  And  in  all  probability 
co-operation,  either  voluntary  or  compulsory,  will 
continue  to  appropriate  an  increasing  share  of  the 
activities  of  society. 

The  Machine  of  Machines. 

The  city  is  a  machine  of  machines.  The  changes 
wrought  by  steam,  electricity,  and  transportation,  t  lie 
mastery  of  nature  and  the  multiplication  of  human 
hands  through  the  harnessing  of  power,  are  the 
fruits  of  urban  life.  So  are  the  college  and  the  press. 
All  these  are  city-born,  just  as  they  were  two  thou- 
sand years  ago.  The  city  is  to  civilization  what  the 
steam-engine  was  to  domestic  industry.  It  is  the 
greatest  machine  of  all.  No  discovery  of  man,  no 


THE  CITY  AND  CIVILIZATION  5 

conquest  of  power  can  be  compared  with  the  achieve- 
ments and  potentiality  of  the  city. 

The  city  is  the  counter  on  which  the  wealth  of 
the  world  is  displayed;  it  is  the  clearing-house  to 
which  the  most  inaccessible  quarters  of  the  earth 
contribute.  Here  the  destinies  of  people  are  deter- 
mined, not  by  a  powerful  potentate,  but  by  the  sub- 
conscious needs  and  demands  of  the  people  them- 
selves. The  desires  of  the  city  direct  the  life  of  the 
shepherds  on  the  mountain-side,  the  fishermen  in 
Alaska,  the  pearl-divers  of  India,  the  plantations  of 
the  tropics,  the  wheat-fields  of  America  and  Russia, 
and  the  sheep  and  cattle  ranges  of  Australia  and  Ar- 
gentina. They  direct  the  wine-growers  of  France 
as  well  as  the  mill  operatives  of  Pittsburgh.  To  its 
needs  the  ears  of  monarchs,  statesmen,  financiers, 
and  captains  of  industry  are  attuned.  To  its  wants 
the  hands  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  workers  respond. 
The  twentieth-century  city  is  the  brain  of  a  cosmic 
machine;  it  is  the  heart  and  sensory  system  of  the 
world  as  well. 

The  Changing  City. 

To  many  people  the  city  is  an  evil  that  exacts  so 
terrible  a  tribute  of  misery  that  they  would  have  us 
"return  to  the  land."  They  dream  of  an  age  of 
rural  simplicity  in  which  wealth  and  want  no  longer 
stare  each  other  in  the  face.  They  would  stem  the 
tide  to  the  city  and  turn  back  the  movements  of 
a  century  and  re-establish  the  conditions  of  our 
fathers.  To  them  the  city  is  not  the  hope,  it  is  the 
despair  of  civilization. 


THE  MODERN  CITY 

But  the  tide  will  never  turn.  Back  to  the  land 
is  an  idle  dream,  f  We  can  no  more  restore  the  pas- 
toral age  than  we  can  go  back  to  the  spindle  and  the 

)m\  Undoubtedly  there  will  be  changes  in  farm 
life.  L)enmark  and  Wisconsin  are  making  agricul- 
ture both  profitable  and  alluring.  And  the  farm 
itself  will  change,  for  it,  even  more  than  the  c 
is  in  a  state  of  arrested  development.  Agriculture, 
with  all  its  advances,  has  not  been  specialized;  it 
has  not  responded,  as  has  industry,  to  the  division 
of  labor  and  the  co-operative  movement. 

The  city,  too,  will  change,  for  the  city  is  what  it  is 
because  political  thought  has  not  kept  pace  with 
changing  conditions.  The  city  has  grown  more 
rapidly  than  has  social  science;  more  rapidly  than 
has  industrial  democracy.  In  the  first  place,  our 
political  machinery  has  not  been  adjusted  to 
performance  of  the  city's  task.  It  is  clumsy,  indi- 
rect, complicated.  Almost  always,  too,  the  city  has 
been  under  the  control  of  a  class  that  has  used  its 
power  to  enrich  itself  by  laws  at  the  expense  of 
others.  And  these  laws  can  be  altered,  just  as  they 
were  created,  as  rapidly  as  the  city  becomes  con- 
scious of  its  possibilities  and  acquires  the  power  to 
correct  these  evils  through  political  democracy. 

For  half  a  century  constitutions  and  laws,  city 
charters,  methods  of  nomination  and  n,  have 

been  so  complicated  that  they  prevented  the  free 
expression  of  the  popular  will.  But  this  is  rapidly 
changing.  The  city  is  being  placed  on  a  democratic 
basis.  Home  rule  is  being  granted.  Charters  are 


THE  CITY  AND  CIVILIZATION  7 

being  simplified.  The  caucus  and  convention  are 
being  abolished  and  the  ballot  is  being  shortened. 
The  initiative,  referendum,  and  recall  are  being 
added.  With  these  changes  it  is  no  longer  necessary 
for  the  city  to  be  a  behemoth,  a  thing  to  be  feared. 
For  the  first  time  in  history  the  great  gains  of  science 
and  industry,  the  economic  and  industrial  possi- 
bilities of  the  city,  are  open  to  conscious  social  direc- 
tion and  control  by  the  people.  And  under  this  new 
democracy  the  city  will  be  able  to  develop  a  life  that 
has  had  no  prototype  in  history. 

Summary* 

The  city  is  the  greatest  agency  of  civilization  as 
it  is  its  most  portentous  problem.  For  the  city  en- 
abled men  to  specialize  through  the  division  of  labor; 
it  made  education,  culture,  and  the  fine  arts  possible. 

It  was  the  co-operation  of  many  men  dividing  up 
the  work  to  be  done  according  to  the  fitness  of  each 
that  enabled  surplus  wealth  to  be  accumulated. 
This  division  of  labor  in  turn  led  to  co-operation 
both  voluntary  and  involuntary;  the  co-operation 
on  the  part  of  the  community  itself  through  the 
use  of  taxation  and  the  co-operation  of  countless 
private  agencies  in  the  production,  distribution,  and 
exchange  of  wealth.  Civilization  advanced  through 
these  means.  And  as  the  city  increases  in  size  the 
possibilities  of  co-operation  increase  as  does  the  pro- 
duction of  wealth,  which  in  turn  makes  possible 
greater  and  greater  leisure  and  expenditures  for  the 
refinements  of  Me. 

Even  the  evils  of  the  city  are  not  necessarily  in- 
herent in  urban  life.  They  are  due  to  the  backward- 
ness of  political  thought  and  social  science  and  the 


8  THE  MODERN  CITY 

failure  of  co-operation  to  keep  pace  with  the  needs 
of  the  community.  This  in  turn  is  partly  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  political  machinery  of  the  city  has 
been  inadequate  to  the  expression  of  the  popular 
will  and  the  execution  of  that  will  when  it  seeks  to 
realize  itself. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  ANCIENT  CITY 

THE  transition  from  rural  to  urban  life  is  much  the 
same  in  all  ages.  A  family,  clan,  or  industrial  group 
forms  the  beginning.  The  members  are  united  by 
racial,  religious,  or  industrial  ties.  The  Pilgrims 
of  Massachusetts  were  not  greatly  different  from 
the  Greeks  and  Phoenicians  who  colonized  the  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

In  very  early  days  the  community  was  united  by 
family  or  religious  ties.  The  members  worshipped  a 
common  ancestor;  their  institutions  were  religious 
and  patriarchal  rather  than  legal,  industrial,  and  po- 
litical. Cicero  describes  the  members  of  a  clan  as 
those  who  could  trace  their  lineage  back  to  a  com- 
mon ancestor,  who  could  claim  that  their  ancestors 
had  all  been  freemen,  and  who  were  still  in  pos- 
session of  their  full  rights.  In  early  days  even 
the  right  to  use  the  land  was  enjoyed  by  the  indi- 
vidual only  as  a  member  of  a  clan,  for  the  land  be- 
longed to  the  group  as  a  whole. 

The  Site. 

The  site  of  early  settlements  was  chosen  for  pro- 
tection. It  was  usually  elevated,  a  place  of  refuge 
in  case  of  attack.  Into  the  stockade  or  walls  the 
cattle  were  driven  in  time  of  danger.  From  these 

defences  the  settlers  issued  forth  to  the  fields  or  to 

9 


10  THE  MODERN  CITY 

make  forays  on  their  neighbors.  Such  were  the  hill 
towns  of  New  England.  Such  settlements  as  these 
were  not  towns.  They  were  merely  agricultural 
groups  who  lived  about  a  common  centre  and  worked 
in  the  surrounding  fields.  There  was  no  co-opera- 
tion, no  division  of  labor,  no  urban  life.  Institutions 
like  the  church  and  the  market-place  later  made 
their  appearance.  In  the  ancient  city  there  was  a 
temple,  a  theatre,  and  a  place  for  the  administration 
of  government.  About  these  institutions  the  primi- 
!  ife  of  the  community  centred. 

Athens  was  located  some  distance  from  the  sea 
for  easy  defence.  The  original  settlement  of  Rome 
was  on  the  Tiber,  about  fifteen  miles  from  its  mouth. 
Different  clans  occupied  the  seven  hills,  each  of 
which  had  a  citadel  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  set- 
tlers on  the  plains.  In  the  Middle  Ages  people 
grouped  themselves  about  the  castle  or  the  cathedral. 
They  were  retainers,  vassals,  peasants,  serfs.  The 
remains  of  such  castles  may  still  be  seen  towering 
high  above  the  river  Rhine.  This  was  the  origin 
of  most  European  towns. 

During  the  Middle  Ages  trade  followed  well- 
recognized  routes  along  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine 
from  Constantinople  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  along 
which  routes  Budapest,  Vienna,  Munich,  Nuremberg, 
Frankfort,  Cologne,  Amsterdam,  Rotterdam,  Bruges, 
Ghent,  Hamburg,  and  Bremen  were  established. 
They  were  trading  centres.  In  time  these  towns 
became  rich  and  powerful.  Flor<  enoa,  Pisa, 

and  Venice  became  cities  of  importance  because  tl 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  11 

commanded  the  trade  of  the  Orient.  The  towns  of 
Italy,  Germany,  and  the  Netherlands  ultimately  be- 
came free  cities.  In  many  instances,  especially  in 
Italy,  they  expanded  into  states  with  tributary 
provinces  under  their  dominion.  They  even  gov- 
erned distant  territories.  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and 
Liibeck  still  survive  as  qualified  city  states  within 
the  German  Empire,  and  Hamburg  still  has  posses- 
sions which  are  separated  from  the  city  proper  by 
a  considerable  distance.  These  cities  are  the  only 
survivals  of  what  was  at  one  time  the  prevailing  city 
type.  They  are  still  city  states  owing  allegiance  to 
the  empire  alone. 
The  Modern  Town. 

In  modern  times  towns  follow  the  railroads  just 
as  they  followed  the  caravan  routes  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages.  Kansas  City,  Denver,  Omaha,  a  hundred 
Western  cities,  owe  their  origin  to  the  Pacific  railroad 
systems.  Towns,  too,  have  sprung  up  about  a  par- 
ticular industry.  Lyons,  in  France,  is  the  centre  of 
the  silk  industry,  Rouen  and  Lille,  of  the  cotton  in- 
dustry, while  the  woollen  factories  are  located  at 
Rheims  and  the  fashions  at  Paris.  The  great  mid- 
land cities  of  England,  Manchester,  Sheffield,  Leeds, 
Coventry,  and  Lancaster  are  wool,  cotton,  iron,  and 
steel  centres.  In  America  proximity  to  raw  mate- 
rials and  good  transportation  facilities  has  deter- 
mined the  growth  of  Pittsburgh,  Gary,  Cleveland, 
and  Birmingham,  while  in  Germany  Essen  and  the 
industrial  towns  of  the  west  have  grown  in  impor- 
tance for  the  same  reasons. 


12  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Other  cities  owe  their  origin  to  waterways  and  sea- 
port harbors,  and  as  nationalism  widens  into  inter- 
nationalism the  seaport  will  become  the  commanding 
city  of  the  country.  London  is  to-day  the  capital  of 
the  commercial  world  because  England  is  its  clear- 
ing-house. In  tune  this  ascendancy  will  pass  to  New 
York,  where  it  will  in  all  probability  permanently 
remain.  The  growth  of  seaport  cities  will  increase 
with  freer  trade  and  the  expansion  of  the  world  mar- 
ket. And  they  rather  than  industrial  or  capital 
c-ities  will  be  the  metropolises  of  the  world. 

The  Greek  City— Athens. 

Greece  produced  the  first  great  cities  of  Western 
civilization.  Tin -y  reached  their  eminence  in 
fifth  century  B.  C.,  when  they  became  the  centres 
of  the  civilization  of  the  world.  The  population  of 
Athens  was  never  more  than  200,000,  of  whom 
180,000  were  slaves. 

The  city  lay  about  a  high  plateau  on  which  was 
erected  the  Acropolis.  Here  was  the  original  set- 
tlement and  the  stronghold.  Below  the  hill,  on  all 
sides,  lay  the  lower  city.  To  the  north  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  Acropolis  was  the  agora,  or  market- 
place. It  was  filled  with  booths  for  traders  and  was 
the  place  for  gatherings,  parades,  and  reviews.  The 
market  was  in  full  swing  by  nine  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing and  continued  until  noon,  when  the  stalls  were 
removed  and  the  business  of  the  day  was  over. 

"For  anyone  coming  from  Asia  it  seems  as  if  in 
entering  Athens  he  was  coming  into  an  ants1  nest.  . 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  13 

It  was  around  the  Acropolis  that  the  houses  were 
crowded  together  and  the  population  always  in  ac- 
tivity. There  wagons  were  passing  to  and  fro  filled 
with  merchandise  from  the  ports  or  conveying  it 
thither.  The  streets  and  public  places  in  which  peo- 
ple passed  then:  lives  presented  a  busy  and  noisy 
scene.  Women  as  well  as  men  were  to  be  seen  in 
the  streets  going  to  the  markets,  the  public  games 
and  meetings  of  corporate  bodies.  From  the  earliest 
hours  of  the  day  large  numbers  of  persons  might  be 
seen  bringing  in  vegetables,  fruit  and  poultry  and 
crying  their  wares  in  the  streets."  1 

The  Greek  Idea  of  the  State. 

Athens,  Corinth,  Sparta,  were  more  than  cities. 
They  were  city  states;  at  times  powerful  empires. 
Each  city  was  an  independent  commonwealth,  de- 
claring war  and  making  peace.  It  knew  no  outside 
sovereign,  no  state  or  nation  of  which  it  was  a  part. 
It  made  its  own  laws  and  the  laws  for  the  surround- 
ing territory.  The  city  was  sovereign.  In  this  it 
differed  from  the  cities  of  to-day,  which  are  depend- 
ent upon  the  state  or  the  nation,  for  with  us  the  city 
is  a  political  agency  of  a  larger  community,  while 
the  ancient  city  imposed  its  will  on  dependent  ter- 
ritory which  it  held  in  subjection.  Athens  extended 
its  sway  over  the  entire  ^Egean  Sea.  It  became  an 
empire.  But  it  still  remained  a  city  state. 

In  area  the  city  was  about  the  size  of  an  English 
county.  "Ten  men/'  says  Aristotle,  "are  too  few 
for  a  city;  100,000  are  too  many."  According  to 

1  The  Habitations  of  Man  in  All  Ages,  chapter  XVII,  p.  196;  E. 
Viollet-Le  Due. 


14  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Aristotle  the  state  was  "an  association  of  similar 
persons  for  the  attainment  of  the  best  life  possible." 
It  was  a  sort  of  partnership  for  mutual  benefit,  the 
benefits  being  the  safety  and  comfort  of  the  com- 
munity. To  be  a  citizen  was  to  have  an  equal  voice 
in  the  assembly.  If  the  state  was  in  danger  all  of 
the  partners  must  defend  it  by  military  services;  if 
it  was  enriched  by  conquest  all  the  partners  v, 
entitled  to  the  advantages.  The  promotion  of  the 
beautiful  was  a  common  concern  as  was  the  protec- 
tion of  the  common  life  from  violence  and  injustice. 
It  was  not  enough  for  a  citizen  to  vote  and  pay  his 
taxes.  He  must  be  personally  active  in  every  civic 
and  military  function.  He  was  soldier,  judge,  and 
member  of  the  governing  assembly,  and  he  must  per- 
form these  duties  in  person;  he  must  vote  his  opin- 
ions and  express  them  in  the  council.  He  could  not 
act  by  proxy  in  either  capacity.  For  this  reason, 
according  to  the  ancients,  the  ideal  city  must  be  lim- 
ited in  population.  The  citizen,  too,  must  be  able  to 
attend  on  the  duties  of  government  frequently,  for 
\vhirh  n  ason  thr  city  must  be  limited  in  area,  while 
ill--  citizen  must  be  endowed  with  leisure. 

The  citizen  scarcely  knew  the  meaning  of  personal 
as  opposed  to  public  rights.  He  was  a  part  of  his 
city  as  he  was  a  part  of  his  family.  And  the  city 
was  a  growth  from  the  family  to  the  clan,  and  from 
the  clan  to  the  city.  But  in  this  transition  the  rela- 
t  i(  >n  of  the  citizen  remained  much  the  same.  He  was 
still  a  part  of  the  family  with  an  added  reverence 
for  the  city.  Of  individualism,  of  the  sanctity  of 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  15 

private  as  opposed  to  public  property,  there  was  little 
conception.  The  city  and  the  family  encompassed 
the  life  of  the  average  citizen.  This  is  why  ostra- 
cism was  such  a  severe  penalty. 

Caste  and  Citizenship. 

Residents  were  divided  into  three  classes.  First, 
there  were  the  citizens  for  whom  the  state  existed. 
Then  there  were  the  slaves  attached  to  their  master 
or  to  the  state  but  without  voice  in  the  government. 
Finally,  there  were  the  resident  aliens,  who  were  their 
own  masters,  who  might  be  rich  and  respected,  but 
who  enjoyed  no  voice  in  the  government.  They 
were  not  eligible  to  public  office,  but  they  paid  an 
annual  poll-tax  for  the  privilege  of  living  in  the  city. 

Citizens  differed  hi  the  amount  of  their  property. 
Some  of  them  were  rich  and  performed  no  labor  of 
any  kind.  Others  were  of  the  trading  or  artisan 
class.  But  among  the  Greeks  the  ideal  citizen  was 
the  man  of  leisure  who  devoted  the  greater  part  of 
his  time  to  public  affairs.  He  required  slaves  and 
laborers  to  free  him  from  material  concerns.  Other- 
wise he  would  have  no  time  for  public  duties  or  to 
train  himself  in  physical  perfection,  which  the  Greeks 
considered  essential  to  the  perfect  man. 

Citizenship  was  a  matter  of  birth.  The  child  of  a 
citizen  was  entitled  to  be  registered  in  the  clan  during 
infancy.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  presented  him- 
self for  admission  to  the  roll  of  adult  citizens  in  one 
of  the  local  divisions.  Here  his  claims  were  care- 
fully examined,  and  if  found  to  be  satisfactory  he  was 
admitted  to  full  citizenship.  He  could  then  marry, 


16  THE  MODERN  CITY 

bring  an  action  at  law,  and  enter  upon  his  in- 
heritance. 

His  life  was  carefully  regulated  for  him  in  order 
that  he  might  become  a  perfect  citizen.  From 
eighteen  to  twenty  he  served  in  the  army,  after 
which  he  could  adopt  his  own  career.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  he  could  attend  the  meetings  of  the  assembly 
and  have  an  equal  vote  with  all  the  other  members. 
Until  the  age  of  thirty  it  was  considered  bad  form  to 
speak  from  the  platform,  at  least  until  all  the  seniors 
had  spoken  upon  the  subject.  When  he  reached  the 
age  of  thirty  he  was  eligible  to  be  a  juryman  in 
law  courts,  and  from  this  time  on  his  abilities  alone 
determined  his  eminence  as  a  < 

Admission  to  citizenship  was  a  formal  affair.     It 
had  to  be  first  proposed  at  a  meeting  of  the  public 
assembly  and  later  ratified  at  another  asseml 
After  that  an  inquiry  might  be  made  into  the  claims 
and  character  of  the  person  before  the  sanction  was 
beyond  recall.    For  the  Greeks  held  citizenship  in 
high  honor  and  they  guarded  it  very  jealously. 
Political  Equality. 

The  underlying  motive  of  Greek  citizenship  was 
equality.  The  equality  was  not  of  wealth  but  of 
rights  and  opportunities,  and  the  state  endeavored 
to  preserve  this  equality  by  guarding  against  any 
undue  power  by  any  man  or  group  of  men.  .'Ml  cit- 
ixens  \veiv  equal  before  the  law:  re  equal  to 

enjoy  as  far  as  possible  every  opportunity  of  leg- 
islation, of  holding  office,  and  of  administering  jus- 
tice. There  was  great  diversity  in  financial  and 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  17 

social  standing,  however,  some  citizens  being  great 
estate  owners  and  others  small  farmers.  Some  were 
factory  owners,  merchants,  ship  owners,  and  shop- 
keepers, while  others  were  artisans,  seamen,  peas- 
ants, and  hucksters.  The  Athenian  had  a  contempt 
for  labor  only  because  it  interfered  with  his  leisure 
time.  It  left  no  opportunity  for  mental  and  phys- 
ical culture.  There  was  no  titled  aristocracy  and 
little  social  ostentation.  The  standing  of  the  citizen 
depended  on  his  social  qualifications  and  refinement. 
In  politics  the  practice  has  been  described  as  "one 
man,  one  vote,  and  a  perpetual  referendum." 

Public  Architecture  a  Symbol  of  the  Greek  Idea  of  the 
City. 

The  Greeks  took  pride  in  their  public  struc- 
tures, in  their  temples  and  amphitheatres.  From 
$30,000,000  to  $35,000,000  was  spent  on  the  Acrop- 
olis alone,  while  the  men  who  erected  it  were  con- 
tent, for  the  most  part,  to  live  in  humble  homes. 
The  cost  of  the  Propylsea,  measured  by  the  pur- 
chasing power  of  money,  was  about  $7,500,000. 

Water  was  drawn  from  distant  rivers  and  springs 
by  underground  conduits.  It  was  not  brought  into 
the  individual  homes  but  was  carried  by  slaves  from 
the  public  springs  and  fountains.  The  theatres  be- 
longed to  the  city  but  were  leased  out  to  private 
managers.  On  public  occasions  and  religious  fes- 
tivals the  theatres  belonged  to  the  people  and  all 
citizens  who  applied  were  allowed  admission. 

Gymnasia  for  physical  training  were  scattered 
about.  Round  about  them  were  gardens  and  open 


18  THE  MODERN  CITY 

spaces  for  athletic  games.  The  fields  were  sur- 
rounded with  terraces,  dressing-rooms,  and  colon- 
nades, where  the  older  men  gathered  for  discussion 
while  the  younger  ones  participated  in  the  sports. 
Throughout  the  city  there  were  colonnades  under 
which  the  Athenians  walked  or  lounged,  protected 
from  the  rain  and  the  wind.  For  the  life  of  Athens 
was  largely  a  leisure  life  devoted  to  politics,  the 
arts,  the  drama,  and  philosophy. 

Apart  from  the  public  buildings  and  gardens,  there 
was  little  splendor  in  Athens.  The  streets  were 
crowded  and  narrow.  They  were  dusty  and  inade- 
quately supplied  with  water.  They  were  badly 
paved  and  were  not  kept  clean  or  lighted  at  night. 
There  was  no  adequate  sewage  system  and  garbage 
was  thrown  into  the  streets.  Of  municipal  adminis- 
tration in  the  modern  sense  of  the  term  there  was 
no  conception. 

The  Economic  Organization  of  the  City. 

Not  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  people  were 
free.  Approximately  20,000  citizens  enjoyed  tl 
leisure  at  the  expense  of  .180,000  slaves,  who  culti- 
vated the  fields,  carried  on  trade,  and  performed  all 
the  clerical  and  manual  work.  To  be  well  and 
strong,  to  be  an  athlete,  to  know  philosophy  and  the 
drama,  to  live  upon  the  streets  and  public  places,  to 
discuss  the  latest  oration  or  engage  in  public  debate 
the  welfare  of  the  city — this  was  the  normal  life 
of  the  Athenian  in  the  most  brilliant  days  of  Hellas. 
No  other  interests  were  worthy  of  emulation.  ( 
tu  re,  art,  and  physical  well-being  were  the  animat- 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  19 

ing  motives  of  life.  The  making  of  money  was  as 
inconsequential  among  the  free  Athenians  as  are  the 
fine  arts  among  us.  In  this  respect  our  point  of 
view  is  almost  completely  reversed,  for  the  ancient 
Greeks  lived  for  life.  The  city  was  the  citizen's 
temple,  the  abode  of  his  gods,  the  inspiration  of  his 
ambitions. 

Rome. 

Rome,  like  Athens,*was  a  city  state.  It,  too,  owed 
allegiance  to  no  higher  authority.  Colonists  went 
forth  and  organized  other  communities  on  the  Ro- 
man model,  but  they  always  remained  dependent 
upon  the  mother  city. 

The  total  circumference  of  Rome  in  the  time  of 
Nero  was  about  twelve  English  miles.  The  popula- 
tion was  about  750,000  and  never  exceeded  1,250,000. 

Even  as  late  as  the  end  of  the  republic  Rome  was 
a  disorderly,  congested,  unsanitary  city.  The  streets 
were  crooked,  hOTy,  and  badly  paved.  The  Rome 
of  Augustus  "was  a  city  grown  up  anyhow."  The 
fashionable  street,  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  had  a  pavement 
of  only  thirteen  and  one-half  feet  wide.  There  were 
some  long,  paved  streets  in  the  Campus  Martius,  but 
the  many  hills  and  valleys  made  the  laying  out  of 
splendid  roadways  difficult.  Apparently  there  was 
no  attempt  at  an  orderly  plan  until  after  the  great 
fire  in  Nero's  tune. 

Building  fronts  were  not  uniform  with  the  street 
line,  while  the  houses  were  tall  and  of  irregular 
height.  They  protruded  into  the  narrow  streets  and 
spoiled  the  architectural  effect.  Taverns,  booths, 


20  THE  MODERN  CITY 

shops,  and  business  establishments  jutted  out  into 
the  roadways,  which  were  used  by  dealers,  trades- 
men, butchers.  Industry  was  carried  on  in  the 
midst  of  traffic,  and  pedestrians  were  compelled  to 
get  along  as  best  they  could.  Horace  complained 
of  the  crowding  in  the  streets,  of  the  turmoil  which 
it  on  by  day  and  by  night.  Long  before  day- 
break bakers  and  milkmen  began  to  cry  their  wares; 
the  workshops  added  to  the  noise;  heavy  wagons, 
beasts  of  burden,  side  by  side  with  pedestrians,  ped- 
lers,  beggars,  snake-charmers,  jugglers  with  trained 
animals,  all  were  mingled  together  in  the  street  life 
of  the  city.  The  thoroughfares  were  so  congested 
that  it  was  necessary  to  issue  orders  prohibiting 
carts  and  wagons  during  the  day. 
Housing. 

Only  the  wealthy  lived  in  separatfi.houaes.  The 
mass  of  the  people  dwelt  in  huge  tenements  called 
"islands/1  because  they  were  detached  from  other 
buildings  and  were  separated  from  one  another  by 
roadways.  These  tenements  were  often  three 
four  stories  high;  the  ground  floor  was  occupied  by 
shops;  the  upper  floors  by  single  rooms  with  small, 
irregular  windows  which  looked  out  upon  the 
street.  There  was  little  home  life,  and  the  people 
used  their  rooms  almost  solely  for  eating  and  sleeping. 

The  tenements  were  usually  owned  by  capitalists, 
and  in  the  early  empire  most  of  the  lodgings  were 
so  cheaply  constructed  that  a  few  years'  rental  re- 
paid their  cost.  Landowners  covered  the  lots  with 
tenements  of  as  many  stories  as  possible;  they  cut 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  21 

down  the  size  of  rooms  and  limited  repairs  just  as 
they  do  to-day.  The  partitions  were  thin  and  of- 
fered little  protection  from  heat  and  cold. 

Police  and  Health  Administration. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  empire  Rome  had  a 
police  force  of  about  7,000  men  which  served  as  a 
fire  brigade.  The  streets  were  badly  lighted  or  not 
lighted  at  all.  Pedestrians  carried  their  own  torches, 
not  only  for  protection  but  because  the  roadways 
were  slimy  and  dirty,  while  traffic  was  dangerous  to 
life.  According  to  all  accounts  the  city  was  badly 
protected  and  was  the  scene  of  many  disorders. 
Houses  were  kept  closed  during  the  day  and  slaves 
were  used  as  night-watchers.  Robberies  were  com- 
mon. There  was  still  danger  from  bandits,  while  the 
youthful  noblemen  did  not  hesitate  to  engage  in 
marauding  excursions  at  night.  The  city  was  also 
very  unhealthy.  It  was  terribly  congested,  and  the 
network  of  canals,  the  overflowing  of  the  Tiber,  the 
frequent  famines  and  plagues  produced  bad  sanitary 
conditions  and  a  high  death-rate. 

The  Public  Baths. 

The  bath  was  a  centre  of  the  life  of  all  classes.  It 
is  estimated  that  there  were  856  baths  in  the  city 
in  the  fourth  century,  many  of  which  were  richly  or- 
namented. The  thermal  baths  of  Nero  contained 
1,600  marble  bath  seats,  while  those  of  Caracalla 
and  Diocletian  contained  almost  twice  as  many. 
Here  the  people  gathered  for  physical  exercise,  for 
discussion,  for  recreation.  By  bathing  twice  daily  the 
Roman  believed  he  could  double  the  span  of  his  life. 

' 


22  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  baths  were  filled  by  a  motley  crowd ;  the  noise 
was  deafening.  Here  the  philosophers  came  to 
argue;  here  the  poets  recited  their  verses;  here  poli- 
ticians came  to  intrigue;  here,  too,  were  thieves  and 
pickpockets.  An  inscription  on  a  gaming-table  of 
this  period  says:  "To  hunt,  to  bathe,  to  gamble, 
to  laugh,  this  indeed  is  to  live." 
Leisure  Life  in  Rome. 

Life  in  Rome,  as  in  Athens,  was  li ved  out-of-doors. 
The  Forum  was  the  centre  of  its  activities.  When  a 
prominent  citizen  was  buried  the  funeral  procession 
passed  through  the  Forum,  where  an  oration  was 
<1<  1  oin  the  rostrum.  Public  banquets  and 

gladiatorial  combats  were  held  here,  while  magis- 
trates, statesmen,  and  even  emperors  harangued 
crowds  on  public  questions.    Trials  were  sometimes 
IK  1.1  in  th«»  Forum,  where  state  questions  were  dis- 
cussed and  many  sanguinary  battles  fought. 

The  well-to-do  citizens  spent  their  timo  in  politics, 
in  war,  in  banqueting,  and  at  the  baths. 

"The  public  places,  gardens,  temples,  colonnades, 
and  monuments,"  says  Frederic  Harrison,  "were 
perpetually  thronged  with  citizens  v  w  each 

other  by  sight  and  name,  who  spent  their  lives  in  a 
sort  of  open-air  club,  talking  politics,  art,  business, 
or  scandal — criticised  Aristophanes'  last  comic  opera 
and  Cicero's  furious  attack  on  Clodius.    And  in 
cool  of  the  day  they  gathered  to  see  the  young  lads 
wrestle,  race,  leap  and  box,  cast  the  javelin  or 
stone;  and  the  younger  warriors  practised  feats  v 
r  horses  or  with  the  spear  and  the  shit 

"The  habit  of  constant  discussion  and  witnessing 
shows  grew  on  the  Greeks,  as  the  habit  of  bathing 


THE  ANCIENT  CITY  23 

grew  on  the  Romans,  until  these  things  became  a 
mania  to  which  their  lives  were  given  up.  Whole 
rivers  were  brought  down  from  the  mountains  in 
aqueducts,  and  ultimately  in  the  Roman  empire 
the  city  population  spent  a  large  part  of  their  day 
in  the  public  baths — buildings  as  big  as  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  and  of  magnificent  materials  and  adorn- 
ment— where  5000  persons  could  meet  and  take  their 
air-bath  in  what  was  club,  playground,  theatre,  lec- 
ture-hall and  promenade  at  once." 1 

Summary. 

Whereas  the  life  of  the  modern  city  is  essentially 
industrial  and  commercial,  the  life  of  the  ancient  city 
was  essentially  military  and  political.  The  modern 
city  is  democratic,  while  the  ancient  city  was  or- 
ganized on  a  caste  basis.  This  made  leisure  possible. 
Menial  labor  was  performed  by  slaves,  who  in  the 
Greek  cities  were  in  the  great  majority.  The  ideal 
life  was  that  of  a  free  citizen,  able  to  give  himself 
to  war,  to  politics,  to  philosophy,  and  to  discussion. 
These  were  the  main  activities  of  life.  And  the 
architecture  and  the  planning  of  the  city  reflected 
the  interests  of  the  citizen. 

Unlike  the  modern  city,  the  ancient  city  was 
paramount  in  the  lives  of  the  people.  'Individual 
rights  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  term  did  not  exist. 
The  citizen  existed  for  the  city  in  which  he  lived 
and  to  which  he  dedicated  his  services. 

The  ancient  city  differed  from  the  modern  city 
politically  in  that  it  was  an  entity  in  itself.  It  was 
a  city  state.  It  owed  allegiance  to  no  higher  power. 
It  did  as  it  chose  in  all  things.  As  its  boundaries 
widened  the  new  territory  remained  subject  to  the 
city,  and  whatever  its  size  the  city  never  lost  its 
sovereignty. 

1  The  Meaning  of  History,  pp.  227,  230. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  MEDLEVAL  TOWN 

CENTURIES  of  disorder  followed  the  decline  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  All  life  was  uncertain  and  the 
towns  were  small  and  poor.  War,  pillage,  and  fam- 
ine checked  the  growth  of  population  and  wealth, 
while  the  absence  of  trade  and  industry  prevented 
t!i"  growth  of  towns.  The  common  people  1. 
about  the  castle  or  under  the  protecting  walls  of  an 
abbey,  to  secure  such  protection  as  it  offered.  The 
peasants  worked  the  fields  and  in  time  of  war  fought 
for  those  within  the  castle.  It  was  an  old  saying: 
"There  is  good  living  under  the  cross."  For  tlu> 
church  was  a  safe  sanctuary.  The  area  within  the 
towns  was  restricted  by  walls  so  as  to  make  defence 
as  easy  as  possible.  And  defence  was  the  primary 
consideration  in  the  planning  of  the  town.  People 
livnl  closely  packed  together  in  houses  whose  upper 
stories  projected  out  over  the  street,  as  they  do 
to-day  in  the  old  parts  of  Frankfort,  Nuremberg, 
and  Rothenberg. 
The  Beginning  of  the  Towns. 

1 1  was  not  until  the  tenth  century  that  anything 
like  municipal  organization  appeared.  There  was  no 
commerce  to  speak  of,  and  each  community  supplied 
its  needs  through  the  market-place,  about  which  the 
fanners  and  artisans  gathered  to  barter  their  wares. 

M 


THE  MEDIAEVAL  TOWN  25 

The  municipal  awakening  began  in  Italy  and  along 
the  Mediterranean,  where  commerce  with  the  East 
had  survived  the  incursions  of  the  barbarians.  It 
gradually  extended  along  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine 
and  into  Flanders  and  France.  Along  these  routes 
towns  were  established,  as  they  were  about  the 
Black  Sea.  By  the  thirteenth  century  municipal 
life  was  pretty  well  developed. 

"The  cities  hummed  like  bees,  the  streets  were  still 
narrow,  irregular  and  unsanitary,  but  they  were 
teeming  with  life.  Encumbering  them  were  bales, 
baskets,  venders  crying  their  wares,  and  enormous 
signs  swinging  in  the  wind  which  sometimes  imperilled 
the  safety  of  passers-by.  It  was  a  new  civilization 
bursting  into  bloom.  Splendid  monuments  arose, 
attesting  the  public  prosperity,  and  churches  lifted 
towards  heaven  their  domes,  campaniles  and  spires; 
glorious  belfries  which  dominated  and  threatened 
their  surroundings  awaiting  the  approaching  time 
when  the  inimitable  town  halls,  with  their  brilliant 
ornamentations  of  stone,  should  cause  them  to  be 
forgotten.  The  town  bell  was  the  public  voice  of 
the  city  as  the  -church  was  the  voice  of  the  soul. 
The  city  in  the  thirteenth  century  lived,  spoke  and 
acted.  It  was  a  new  factor  in  society."1 

Description  of  the  Town. 

The  town  was  protected  by  walls  entered  at  fre- 
quent intervals  through  massive  gates.  Frequently 
there  was  a  series  of  encircling  walls  erected  at  dif- 
ferent intervals  as  the  town  grew  in  population. 

1  Emancipation  of  Medieval  Tovms,  by  A.  Gery  and  A.  Reville, 
edited  by  Frank  Greene  Bates  and  Paul  Emerson  Titsworth,  p.  67. 


26  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Round  about  the  walls  were  moats  filled  with  wa- 
ter and  crossed  by  drawbridges.  The  sites  of  these 
old  walls  may  still  be  seen  in  Cologne,  Frankfort, 
Bremen,  Munich,  Nuremberg,  and  Vienna.  The  Ring- 
strasse  of  Vienna,  probably  the  most  beautiful  street 
in  the  world,  was  laid  out  on  the  site  of  the  fortifi- 
cations which  surrounded  the  old  city  up  to  as  late 
as  the  middle  of  the  last  century. 

Inside  the  town  was  a  castle,  or  citadel,  the  last 
place  of  refuge  in  case  of  attack.    It  usually  o< 
pied  the  most  inaccessible  point  and  was  still  fur; 
protected  by  walls.    In  the  watch-tower,  which  sur- 
mounted the  town  hall,  were  bells  which  warned 
th<  ( itizens  of  danger  and  were  used  to  call  them  to 
assembly.    These  bells  also  announced  the  hours 
of  work  in  the  morning  and  of  rest  in  the  evening. 
The  tower,  with  the  town  seal,  was  an  emblem  of 
freedom .     1 1  was  the  first  thing  destroyed  if  the  town 
was  captured  by  an  enemy. 
The  Town  the  Cradle  of  Liberty. 

The  trade  of  the  East  started  a  movement  of 
emancipation  from  the  feudal  lords,  who  owned  the 
land  on  which  the  towns  were  built,  which  con- 
tinued  for  several  centuries.  Men  began  to  tr. 
from  place  to  place.  Peasants  became  artisans,  mer- 
chants, and  employers.  In  time  the  towns  became 
rich,  Imt  the  land  on  which  they  were  built  was  still 
owned  by  the  feudal  lords,  just  as  was  the  agricul- 
tural  territory  which  surrounded  them.  The  n 

tits  were  still  vassals  like  the  peasants  in  the 
ii<  Ms;   th<  y  were  subjects  of  the  overlord,  upon 


THE  MEDLEY AL  TOWN  27 

whose  land  the  town  came  into  existence.  They  en- 
joyed no  political  or  social  rights. 

As  the  artisans  became  wealthy  they  resented 
their  dependence.  They  protested  against  the  dues 
they  were  compelled  to  pay;  against  the  interference 
by  the  lord  with  their  local  affairs.  They  desired  to 
manage  their  markets  and  to  trade  with  other  towns 
as  they  saw  fit.  They  demanded  guarantees  of  free- 
dom, which  they  ultimately  obtained,  sometimes  by 
purchase,  sometimes  by  conquest.  These  guaran- 
tees were  embodied  in  written  charters,  which  are  the 
origin  of  the  charters  which  cities  enjoy  to-day. 

The  towns  of  Germany  gradually  divided  into  two 
general  classes:  those  which  were  in  substance  free 
and  independent  republics,  or  Freistddte,  directly 
dependent  on  the  Emperor,  and  those  which  were 
partly  free  but  owed  some  allegiance  to  ecclesiastical 
or  lay  overlords.  The  free  cities  provided  their  own 
form  of  government,  they  looked  after  their  own  de- 
fence, collected  their  own  taxes,  and  knew  no  inter- 
ference in  the  management  of  their  affairs,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign.  In  case  of  serious  controversies 
they  looked  to  the  Emperor  for  protection  and  were 
willing  to  aid  him  in  the  preservation  of  the  general 
order. 

The  Guilds. 

Just  as  the  population  of  Greece  and  Rome  was 
divided  into  citizens  and  slaves,  so  the  later  mediaeval 
city  was  divided  into  a  caste  system  organized  about 
industry.  A  merchant  aristocracy  arose.  Trade  and 
commerce,  far  from  being  despised  callings  as  in 


28  THE  MODERN  CITY 

ancient  times,  were  the  dominating  motive  in  the 
life  of  the  community.  The  principal  activities  were 
gold  and  silver  smithing,  cloth  making,  saddlery, 
arms  and  iron  working,  and  trading  in  all  kinds  of 
local  and  foreign  commodities.  Each  trade  was  or- 
ganized into  a  separate  guild,  which  in  many  towns 
became  a  close  corporation.  To  it  men  were  ad- 
mitted by  birth,  by  purchase,  and  by  adoption. 
Each  trade  or  industry  was  organized  by  itself  and 
was  composed  of  the  masters,  who  had  a  number  of 
apprentices  associated  with  them. 

The  guild  was  in  reality  a  trade  monopoly.  It 
regulated  all  of  the  conditions  of  the  industry.  It 
determined  the  styles  and  fixed  the  prices  to  be 
charged.  Each  guild  decided  who  should  be  admitted 
to  its  membership  and  the  rules  which  governed  it. 
It  was  possible  for  a  newcomer  to  engage  in  a  trade 
only  with  the  consent  of  the  guild  which  controlled 
it.  No  man  could  work  as  an  artisan  until  ho  had 
served  as  an  apprentice  under  the  direction  of  a  maa- 
Everything  was  regulated  and  controlled. 

The  guilds  formed  the  governing  class,  from  v 
ill-'  aldermen  and  magistrates  were  selected.    The 
oty  was  almost  wholly  an  agency  of  business,  while 
citizenship  was  a  privilege  to  which  men  were  ad- 
mitted through  their  occupations.    This  was  par- 
ticularly true  of  the  cities  of  southern  Germany  and 
tii--  N         lands  which  were  rich  trading  centres. 
Citizenship. 

In  some  towns  citizenship  was  granted  to  the  peo- 
>f  th<  town  and  suburbs;  in  some  it  was  limited 


THE  MEDLEVAL  TOWN  29 

to  those  within  the  walls.  In  others  the  suffrage  was 
a  privilege  conferred  on  those  who  owned  property 
or  belonged  to  the  guilds.  Some  communities  ex- 
cluded serfs,  natural  children,  and  debtors,  and 
others  the  entire  laboring  class.  The  towns  of  the 
north  usually  refused  the  right  of  citizenship  to 
nobles  and  churchmen.  Nowhere  did  manhood  suf- 
frage, as  we  understand  it,  obtain,  while  the  right 
of  holding  office  was  generally  reserved  to  the  well- 
to-do  classes,  which  formed  an  aristocracy  of  wealth. 
Frequently  they  alone  enjoyed  the  right  of  citizen- 
ship. 

As  the  town  grew  in  prosperity  the  merchants 
became  more  and  more  exclusive  and  the  right  of 
citizenship  a  commercial  privilege.  Ultimately  al- 
most all  of  the  northern  towns  were  governed  by  the 
merchant  guilds  or  livery  companies,  although  by 
the  fourteenth  century  the  artisan  class  had  gener- 
ally obtained  some  voice  in  the  community's  affairs. 

Administration. 

Administration  was  far  from  uniform.  In  some 
communes  the  government  was  vested  in  a  general 
assembly  of  citizens  which  chose  the  magistrate  and 
aided  in  the  administration.  In  others  the  govern- 
ment was  in  a  body  of  peers  who  held  office  for  life 
and  filled  all  vacancies  within  the  body.  In  some 
of  the  northern  towns  the  overlord  reserved  the 
right  to  select  the  magistrate,  frequently  from  names 
submitted  by  the  municipal  assembly.  The  fffice 
of  magistrate  was  usually  reserved  to  the  wealthy 
classes  or  to  a  few  families  which  guarded  the  priv- 


30  THE  MODERN  CITY 

ilege  jealously.    Members  of  the  artisan  class  were 

not  eligible  to  office. 

End  of  the  Mediaeval  Period. 

The  mediaeval  city  with  its  privileged  guild  or- 
ganization continued  down  to  the  period  of 
French  Revolution.  For  the  most  part  it  had  lost 
the  equality  and  freedom  of  earlier  days  and  had 
become  a  close  corporation  and  in  many  instances 
thoroughly  corrupt. 

The  old  type  of  town  could  not  survive  democracy 
on  the  one  hand  and  industry  on  the  other.  The 
liberties  of  the  burgher  class  had  become  special 
privileges  which  degenerated  into  the  worst  sort  of 
abuses.  The  towns  were  governed  under  a  re- 
stricted suffrage  which  in  most  instances  was  no 
suffrage  at  all.  In  addition,  as  the  towns  grew  in 
population  administration  broke  down.  There  was 
no  provision  for  health  or  sanitation,  no  police  or  fire 
protection,  no  schools,  no  control  over  building  or 
provision  for  the  common  decencies  of  life.  Bad  as 
were  the  conditions  in  the  mediaeval  towns,  it  is 
probable  that  the  city  was  never  so  inadequate  to 
its  needs  as  during  the  generation  which  followed  the 
development  of  factory  industry  in  England  in  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  first  qua 
of  the  nineteenth  centuries. 

Doctor  Albert  Shaw  has  described  the  conditions 
of  the  British  city  of  the  later  mediaeval  period  as 
follows: 

"As  for  municipal  conveniences,  those  were 
times  when  life  was  simple  and  'modern  improve- 


THE  MEDLEVAL  TOWN  31 

merits'  not  so  much  as  dreamed  about.  The  streets 
were  narrow,  with  the  houses  built  close  upon  them. 
The  pavement  was  of  the  rudest  character.  There 
were  simple  surface  drainage  and  no  garbage  re- 
moval or  cleansing  system.  Water  was  supplied 
from  a  few  town  fountains  or  public  wells.  Street 
lighting  had  not  been  invented  and  early  hours  were 
prescribed.  Most  towns  had  a  skirting  of  common 
lands  where  the  cows  were  pastured  and  where  in 
many  cases  fuel  was  procured.  The  houses  were  in 
large  part  built  of  wood,  and  in  spite  of  vigilant 
'watch  and  ward'  and  compulsory  hearth  precau- 
tions, destructive  fires  were  not  infrequent.  The 
death  rate,  of  course,  was  high.  There  was  infection 
in  the  wells  and  no  means  of  checking  the  spread 
and  fatality  of  frequent  'plagues'  that  swept  the 
towns.  But  the  science  of  public  sanitation  being 
undiscovered,  these  things  were  accepted  piously  as 
inescapable  visitations  of  God."1 

The  Transition  in  England. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  municipal  corporations 
in  England  were  largely  self-governing.  In  them 
the  love  of  freedom  was  nurtured.  As  time  went 
on  administration  became  incompetent  and  corrupt. 
The  most  flagrant  abuses  were  prevalent.  Electors 
were  freely  bribed  and  public  moneys  were  wrong- 
fully used.  There  were  few  citizens  who  enjoyed 
the  suffrage,  and  they  were  used  as  part  of  a  political 
machine  for  the  maintenance  of  parliamentary  ma- 
jorities. Cities  were  pawns  of  the  King  or  of  polit- 
ical parties.  They  were  little  more  than  rotten  bor- 
oughs in  national  politics.  Suffrage  was  a  matter 

1  Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain,  p.  21. 


32  THE  MODERN  CITY 

of  birth,  purchase,  or  co-optation.  The  town  was 
governed  by  self-elected  citizens  and  frequently  by 
self-elected  officials.  Councilmen  frequently  held 
office  for  life.  In  case  of  vacancy  the  remaining 
councillors  filled  the  office.  As  a  consequence  the 
towns  lost  the  confidence  of  the  people.  The  local 
regulations  and  ordinances  were  not  obeyed.  The 
towns  had  little  revenues  and  but  little  authority. 
With  but  a  few  exceptions  they  were  devoid  of  pub- 
lic spirit,  wholly  unrepresentative,  and  given  over 
to  the  ruling  caste. 

h  were  the  conditions  in  Great  Britain  de- 
scribed by  the  royal  commission  which  reported  to 
Parliament  in  1835.  As  a  result  of  this  investiga- 
tion the  Municipal  Corporations  Act  of  that  year 
was  passed,  which  remains,  with  subsequent  changes, 
the  municipal  code  of  Great  Britain. 

Summary. 

The  mediaeval  town  partook  partly  of  the  ancient, 
partly  of  the  modern  city.  It  was  far  from  demo- 
cratic and  was  organized  along  industrial  caste 
lines.  In  its  later  development  it  was  governed  by 
the  guilds,  made  up  of  the  master  merchants  and 
craftsmen,  under  whom  were  apprentices  and  de- 
]>< -infants,  who  enjoyed  little  or  no  share  in  the  p 
eminent. 

And  just  as  the  ancient  city  reflected  the  ideal  of 
leisure,  so  the  mediaeval  city  reflected  the  prevailing 
interest,  which  was  trade  and  commerce,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  religion  on  the  other.  Its  great  structures 
were  dedicated  to  these  ends,  and  much  of  the  beauty 
of  the  old  cities  of  Germany  and  the  Netherlands  is 


THE  MEDLEVAL  TOWN  33 

a  reflection  of  the  life  of  the  merchants  of  these 
ages. 

The  sites  of  early  towns  were  fixed  by  military 
considerations.  In  later  times  trade  routes  and 
harbors  fixed  their  location  and  growth.  Cities 
were  planned  for  protection  and  were  close-walled 
within  a  limited  area.  They  were  devoid  of  comfort 
and  conveniences  but  became  the  centres  of  a  highly 
organized  industrial  life. 

The  movement  for  modern  liberty  began  in  the 
mediaeval  town.  The  bonds  of  feudalism  were 
broken  by  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  burghers, 
who  resented  the  taxes  and  dues  imposed  upon  them 
by  the  overlords.  Gradually  they  secured  their 
freedom,  sometimes  by  purchase,  sometimes  by  con- 
quest. Their  rights  were  then  inscribed  in  charters, 
which  were  the  first  guarantees  of  modern  liberty. 

The  mediaeval  town  was  destroyed  by  modern  in- 
dustry, on  the  one  hand,  and  by  democracy  on  the 
other.  The  increasing  urban  population  and  the 
gradual  liberalization  of  thought  destroyed  the 
caste-like  corporations  which  existed  all  over  Europe 
and  led  to  the  enactment  of  uniform  municipal  codes 
in  England,  France,  and  Germany  in  the  early  years 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  MODERN  CITY 

city  is  like  a  human  being  in  its  growth.  In 
beginning  its  functions  are  simple;  as  it  passes 
into  adolescence  it  acquires  new  needs;  when  it 
reaches  maturity  its  life  is  as  diversified  as  that  of 
the  highly  developed  man. 

We  can  see  this  evolution  going  on  before  our 
eyes.  As  the  cross-roads,  the  mining-camp,  or 
railroad-station  emerges  into  a  settlement,  it  de- 
taches itself  from  the  county  and  becomes  a  village. 
Its  functions  are  still  but  little  different  from  what 
tiny  wore  before.  The  roads  are  unpaved :  there  are 
no  sewers  or  sidewalks,  no  police,  fire,  or  health  de- 
partments. The  streets  are  not  lighted  or  cleaned. 
The  individual  lives  much  as  he  did  before.  The 
only  difference  is  that  he  now  has  neighbors.  He  is 
in  a  position  to  co-operate.  A  graded  school  is  one 
of  the  first  things  established.  A  few  street  lights 
are  installed,  which  are  put  out  in  the  earl 
Sidewalks  appear;  increasing  traffic  leads  to  paving 
with  some  cheap  material.  As  the  town  grows,  one 
or  more  constables  arc  employed,  more  as  a  precau- 
tion than  a  need.  Voluntary  fire  departments  with 
rude  apparatus  are  organized.  But  for  the  most 

M 


THE  MODERN  CITY  35 

part  life  remains  much  as  it  was  in  the  country  dis- 
trict from  which  the  village  has  insensibly  developed. 

The  Town. 

When  the  village  becomes  a  town  its  activities 
increase  in  number  and  importance.  The  close 
living  of  people  has  given  birth  to  certain  perils  as 
well  as  needs  which  can  only  be  satisfied  by  the 
community.  Wells  are  in  danger  of  pollution.  Pos- 
sibly an  epidemic  of  disease  breaks  out.  A  con- 
flagration takes  place  which  destroys  a  portion  of 
the  town.  A  movement  is  started  for  a  public  water 
supply.  Possibly  the  State  board  of  health  compels 
its  installation.  A  private  company  is  granted  the 
franchise  or  the  community  itself  builds  the  plant 
and  provides  itself  with  water  from  wells  or  near-by 
streams. 

With  the  growth  of  the  town  provision  is  made 
for  the  public  health.  Sanitation  is  bad,  and  bonds 
are  issued  for  the  building  of  sewers  and  the  in- 
stallation of  a  sewage-reduction  plant.  The  light- 
ing of  homes  and  streets  from  a  common  plant  be- 
comes profitable,  and  a  franchise  is  granted  to  a 
gas  or  electric  lighting  company;  or,  as  is  more  com- 
mon, the  city  itself  installs  the  electric-lighting  plant 
and  grants  a  franchise  to  a  private  company  for  the 
supply  of  gas.  The  streets  are  better  lighted.  The 
volunteer  fire  department  becomes  inadequate  and 
provision  is  made  for  a  permanent  paid  department. 
Police  and  health  officers  are  provided  for.  The 
community  is  no  longer  rural;  it  is  urban. 

In  1910  there  were  1,173  communities  hi  the  United 


36  THE  MODERN  CITY 

States  with  a  population  of  from  2,500  to  5,000  in- 
habitants.   They  contained  an  aggregate  population 
of  4,105,656  people. 
The  City. 

When  the  community  increases  to  5,000  popula- 
tion a  new  form  of  government  is  required.  The 
town  becomes  a  city,  and  a  charter  is  adopted  which 
provides  for  several  departments  in  place  of  the 
amoeba-like  organization  of  the  village.  A  mayor  is 
elected  and  department  directors  are  provided  for. 
A  city  solicitor  and  city  engineer  are  appointed. 
The  street  department  builds,  cleans,  and  waters  the 
streets.  The  health  department  inspects  plumbing; 
it  insists  upon  the  installation  of  closets;  it  pre\\ 
the  pollution  of  streams.  The  city  is  scattered  o 
a  wider  area  and  new  means  of  transportation  are 
landed.  A  private  company  is  granted  the  right 
to  lay  tracks  in  the  streets  and  operate  cars  under  a 
franchise.  Business  and  domestic  needs  lead  to  the 
installation  of  a  telephone  plant. 

The  community  has  now  reached  man's  estate. 
1 1  has  evolved  from  rural  into  urban  conditions  by 
imperceptible  additions  to  its  activities.  And  each 
IK  w  activity  has  made  life  eaaier,  safer,  and  more 
comfortable  for  almost  everybody.  The  health  of 
the  community  is  improved.  Sickness  and  the  death 
rate  are  diminished.  Through  a  common  plant  the 
city  delivers  an  unlimited  supply  of  water  to  the 
home  at  a  cost  of  but  a  few  cents  a  day.  Op- 
portunities for  education  have  developed  from  the 
single  school  into  elementary  and  high  schools  with 


THE  MODERN  CITY  37 

opportunities  for  advanced  study  not  possible  in 
the  country  district.  Life  and  property  are  pro- 
tected by  the  police,  fire,  and  health  departments. 
Building  codes  have  been  enacted,  regulating  the 
construction  of  houses  and  factories  as  still  further 
protection  against  fire. 

The  Change  in  Life. 

Life,  too,  has  changed.  The  factory  has  appeared; 
work  has  become  specialized.  No  one  produces  for 
himself  alone;  he  produces  for  the  community,  pos- 
sibly for  the  whole  world.  Women  and  children 
leave  the  home  and  are  employed  in  the  mills.  A 
new  industrial  relationship  appears  and  with  it  dif- 
ferences in  wealth  an^l  station.  Recreation  is  no 
longer  confined  to  the*  home  or  the  church.  It  is 
provided  by  the  theatre,  the  motion-picture  show, 
the  saloon,  and  the  streets.  There  are  labor-unions 
and  clubs.  Human  life  has  been  widened  in  a  great 
variety  of  ways;  it  is  richer,  more  diversified,  more 
complete.  And  each  step  in  the  evolution  from  the 
country  to  the  city  involves  increasing  co-operation, 
both  voluntary  and  compulsory;  it  involves  further 
division  of  labor  and  specialization  of  work. 

Wealth  is  now  unequally  distributed.  The  man- 
sion has  appeared  along  with  the  tenement.  The 
community  has  enriched  a  few  with  grants  to  water, 
gas,  electric-lighting,  street-railway,  and  telephone 
companies,  which  have  increased  in  value  through 
the  growth  of  the  city.  Land  values  have  increased 
until  a  single  building  lot  is  now  more  valuable  than 
all  the  land  underlying  the  town  a  few  years  before. 


THE  MODERN  CITY 

Property  that  could  be  bought  for  a  hundred  dollars 
an  acre  is  now  sold  at  the  same  price  for  a  single 
front  foot.  Speculators  have  laid  out  suburban 
territory  in  building  lots  to  sell  at  speculative  prices. 
Cottages  are  torn  down  to  make  place  for  tene- 
ments in  which  the  rent  of  a  single  apartment  equals 
that  of  a  whole  house  of  but  a  few  years  before. 

Poverty  appears.  Men  must  now  pay  for  trans- 
portation, for  water,  and  for  light,  and  they  must 
pay  a  single  corporation,  for  there  is  no  comp 
tion  in  these  services.  Rent,  too,  has  increased  until 
it  is  one  of  the  heaviest  items  in  the  family  budget, 
a  burden  which  must  be  met  before  any  other  ac- 
tivity is  possible.  ^^ 

These  are  some  of  the  gaJTFand  losses  of  the  city. 
They  are  social  rather  than  individual.  A  few  are 
enriched  by  the  growth  of  the  city,  while  the  many 
are  made  poorer  by  it.  For  tin-  value  of  land  and 
the  value  of  franchises,  from  which  many  of 
permanent  fortunes  of  our  large  cities  come,  spring 
from  the  growth  of  the  community  rather  than  from 
the  efforts  of  the  individuals  who  own  them.  The 
gains  have  been  largely  due  to  the  activities  assumed 
by  the  community,  to  the  many  new  services  un< 
taken,  while  the  burdens  and  losses  are  traceable  to 
the  socially  created  wealth,  to  the  land  and  franchise 
values  which  have  been  left  in  private  hands. 

The  Metropolitan  City. 

When  the  community  reaches  larger  propori 
it  changes  again.    The  number  of  municipal  activi- 
ties is  greatly  increased.    Co-operation  is  extended 


THE  MODERN  CITY  39 

still  further.  The  individual  no  longer  knows  his 
neighbors.  He  is  increasingly  dependent  on  the  com- 
munity for  protection,  for  services,  for  enjoyment. 
His  health  and  his  life  are  endangered  in  countless 
ways.  Immigration  has  added  a  large  foreign-born 
population.  A  vagrant  and  criminal  class  has  come 
in,  recruited  by  the  vicissitudes  of  employment  and 
periodically  increased  by  changes  in  industry  and 
hard  times.  The  control  of  vice  and  crime  is  one 
of  the  most  insistent  of  problems,  requiring  heavy 
expenditure  for  police,  for  courts,  and  for  penal 
institutions.  There  is  danger  from  impure  food, 
which  passes  through  many  hands  and  no  longer 
bears  the  guarantee  of  the  near-by  shop.  It  must 
be  inspected;  weights  and  measures  must  be  over- 
seen. The  factory  has  grown  into  a  loft  building, 
badly  built  and  with  inadequate  fire-escapes,  which 
may  sacrifice  the  lives  of  hundreds  of  people.  The 
tenements,  too,  are  a  menace.  They  are  not  owned 
by  the  occupants  but  by  speculators.  There  is  in- 
adequate light,  often  no  light  in  the  rooms  at  all. 
One  and  two  rooms  frequently  house  an  entire  fam- 
ily, as  well  as  boarders  taken  in  to  eke  out  the  rent. 
Houses  must  be  inspected;  the  size  of  rooms  and  the 
amount  of  air  space  must  be  regulated.  Tenements 
must  be  kept  clean  and  sanitary,  with  provision  for 
water,  baths,  and  other  means  of  cleanliness  made 
difficult  to  the  individual  by  the  growth  of  the  city. 
New  means  of  transit  must  be  provided  by  ele- 
vated and  subway  systems.  New  health  problems 
arise.  The  garbage  must  be  cared  for;  the  streets 
must  be  better  paved,  lighted,  and  policed.  A  thou- 


40  THE  MODERN  CITY 

sand  services  must  be  performed  by  the  community 

each  day  just  to  make  life  possible. 

Tenancy. 

The  great  majority  of  urban  dwellers  are  tenants. 
As  the  city  increases  in  size  the  percentage  of  ten- 
ancy increases,  until  in  the  larger  cities  the  home- 
owner almost  disappears.  The  census  of  1900  shows 
that  87.9  per  cent,  of  the  people  of  New  York  live 
in  hired  homes.  In  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  the 
proportion  rises  to  94.1,  while  in  Brooklyn  it  is 
82  per  cent.  Four  fifths  of  the  families  in  Boston, 
Fall  River,  Jersey  City,  and  Memphis  live  in  rented 
homes,  while  in  Detroit,  which  stands  at  the  head 
of  the  list,  only  39.1  of  the  people  own  their  homes. 
In  one  assembly  district  of  Manhattan  only  fourteen 
out  of  13,662  families  own  tln-ir  homes  free  of 
mortgage  and  only  forty-two  own  homes  at  all. 
The  in...  1. TII  city  is  a  city  of  tenants;  to  an  increasing 
extent  it  is  a  city  without  homes,  for  tenancy  and 
the  tenement  preclude  the  idea  of  home  as  we  are 
accustomed  to  understand  its  meaning. 

Home  ownership  is  impossible  in  the  larger  < 
because  of  the  prohibitive  price  of^cjtv  land.  It  is 
out  of  the  question  to  any  but  a  very  few.  Nor  i 
advisable  for  the  worker  to  own  his  home.  For 
modern  industry  has  destroyed  permanence  in  em- 
ployment. Even  the  skilled  worker  is  compelled  to 
change  his  place  of  residence  from  time  to  time  to 
adjust  himself  to  his  work.  To  him  home  ownership 
is  a  danger  and  a  disadvantage.  It  makes  him  de- 
pendent upon  local  employment ;  it  impairs  his  free- 
dom to  organize,  to  move,  to  resist  wage  reductions. 


THE  MODERN  CITY  41 

Leisure. 

The  city,  too,  has  changed  the  leisure  life  of  the 
people.  The  open  fields  are  far  away,  while  the 
church  is  no  longer  a  vital  social  force  and  the  home 
is  too  often  a  crowded  tenement  in  which  there  is  no 
place  for  rest  or  recreation. 

The  leisure  life  of  young  and  old  is  largely  in  the 
hands  of  commerce;  and  commerce  has  no  concern 
for  its  effect  upon  the  community.  The  free  hours 
of  the  family  are  spent  in  the  saloon,  "the  work- 
ingman's  club,"  in  the  theatres  or  motion-picture 
shows,  in  the  dance-hall  and  the  street.  The  city 
has  destroyed  the  recreational  opportunities  of  the 
smaller  town. 

Changed  Economic  Relationships. 

The  urban  dweller  has  also  lost  his  economic  inde- 
pendence.   He  has  become  an  employee.    He  no 
longer  owns  his  tools.    The  relation  of  master  and 
man  has  come,  and  a  class  division  has  arisen  between 
the  employer  on  the  one  hand  and  great  groups  of 
organized  and  unorganized  workers  on  the  other. 
Occasionally  men  rise  from  their  class  and  achieve! 
independence,  but  the  class  remains,  as  does  the  I 
conflict. 

Women  have  become  an  important  factor  in  ur- 
ban industry.  A  census  report  in  1909  shows  that 
19.5  per  cent,  of  the  industrial  wage-earners  are 
women,  and  the  proportion  is  steadily  increasing. 
Out  of  42,000  women  in  Fall  River,  Mass.,  18,000 
were  employed  in  gainful  pursuits,  of  whom  15,000 
were  in  industries.  About  one  third  of  the  females 
over  ten  vears  of  asre  in  Philadebhia  were  emDloved 


42  THE  MODERN  CITY 

in  some  form  of  wage-earning,  while  one  eighth  were 
engaged  in  industries.1 

The  employment  of  women  still  further  changes 
home  life;  it  affects  marriages,  the  education  and 
rearing  of  children,  the  character  of  the  home.  It 
is  a  disturbing  element  in  wages.  A  recent  report 
of  the  United  States  Government  on  "Women  in 
Industries  in  the  United  States"  says: 

"The  story  of  women's  work  in  gainful  employ- 
ments is  a  story  of  constant  changing  or  shifting  of 
work  and  work  shop,  accompanied  by  long  hours, 
low  wages,  unsanitary  conditions  of  work,  and 
want  on  the  part  of  women  of  training,  skill  and  a 
vital  interest  in  the  work.  .  .  .  The  most  surprising 
fact  brought  out  in  this  study  is  the  long  period  of 
time  through  which  large  numbers  of  women  have 
worked  under  conditions  which  in\ 
great  hardships  to  themselves,  but  shocking  waste 
to  the  community." 

The  New  Citizenship. 

The  American  city  differs  from  other  cities  in  the 
world  in  that  its  population  is  largely  foreign-born 
or  of  immediate  foreign  extraction.  From  the  cen- 
sus of  1910  it  appears 

"that  the  proportion  of  the  total  population  repre- 
sented by  white  persons  of  either  foreign  birth  <>r 
foreign  parentage  is  very  large  in  most  of  the  19  cities 
named;  in  each  of  15  cities  the  percentage  of  these 
two  rl-'inrnts,  taken  together,  represented  more  than 
half  the  total  population,  and  in  11  of  them  it  is 
more  than  two-thirds.  The  11  cities,  with  the  j 
centage  of  their  population  n  presented  by  these  t 

*  American  City  Government,  by  Ch*rk»  A.  Beard,  p.  11 


THE  MODERN  CITY  43 

elements,  are:  New  York,  78.6;  Milwaukee,  78.6; 
Chicago,  77.5;  Cleveland,  74.8;  Boston,  74.2;  De- 
troit, 74;  Buffalo,  71.3;  Newark,  69.9;  Jersey  City, 
69.7;  San  Francisco,  68.3;  Minneapolis,  67.2.  .  .  . 

"There  were  in  New  York  (1900)  785,053  persons 
of  German  descent,  a  number  nearly  equal  to  the 
population  of  Hamburg,  and  larger  than  the  native 
element  in  New  York  (737,477).  New  York  has 
twice  as  many  Irish  (710,510)  as  Dublin;  two  and  a 
half  times  as  many  Jews  as  Warsaw;  half  as  many 
Italians  as  Naples,  50,000  to  150,000  first  and  second 
generations  from  Scotland,  Hungary,  Poland,  Aus- 
tria and  England.  Chicago  has  nearly  as  many 
Germans  as  Dresden,  one  third  as  many  Irish  as 
Belfast,  half  as  many  Swedes  as  Stockholm.  The 
variety  of  races  too  is  astonishing.  New  York  excels 
Babel.  A  newspaper  writer  finds  in  that  city  36  lan- 
guages spoken,  49  newspapers  published  in  foreign 
languages,  and  one  school  at  Mulberry  Bend  with 
children  of  29  nationalities.  Several  of  the  smaller 
groups  live  in  colonies,  like  the  Syrians,  Greeks  and 
Chinese.  But  the  colonies  of  the  larger  groups  are 
reservoirs,  perpetually  filling  and  flowing." l 

The  Growth  of  the  City. 

The  modern  city  differs  from  those  of  ancient  and 
mediaeval  times  not  only  in  its  industrial  relation- 
ships but  in  the  size  and  rapidity  of  its  growth.  In 
the  days  of  Athens's  greatest  splendor  the  population 
which  its  walls  enclosed  was  about  200,000,  of  whom 
not  more  than  20,000  were  free.  Rome  never  had 
more  than  a  million  and  a  quarter  of  people,  while 
scores  of  cities  to-day  have  a  greater  population  than 
did  London,  Paris,  and  Berlin  in  the  closing  days  of 
the  eighteenth  century. 

1  American  City  Govern  nent,  by  Charles  A.  Beard,  pp.  24,  26. 


44  THE   MODERN  CITY 

All  over  the  world  the  city  is  absorbing  an  in- 
creasing percentage  of  the  people.  The  growth  in 
the  United  States  since  the  Civil  War,  and  in  Ger- 
many since  the  war  with  France,  has  been  continuous. 
The  cities  of  England  have  grown  most  rapidly  during 
the  same  period,  although  urban  development  in  that 
country  has  been  uninterrupted  since  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

In  1910  the  urban  population  of  continental  United 
States  amounted  to  42,623,383  people.  This  was 
46.3  per  cent,  of  the  total.  Ten  yean  earlier  the 
urban  population  was  but  40.5  per  cent.;  in  1890  it 
was  36.1  per  cent.,  and  in  1880  29.5  per  cent.  In 
til--  New  England  division  more  than  four  fifths  of 
tin-  people  lived  under  urban  conditions  in  1910, 
while  in  the  Middle  Atlantic  division  the  urban  pop- 
ulation constituted  more  than  seven  tenths  of  the 
total.  In  New  York  nearly  four  fifths  of  the  people 
in  towns  and  cities.  The  lowest  proportion  of 
urban  population  is  found  in  the  South,  where  25.4 
per  cent,  are  urban  in  the  South  Atlantic  States, 
18.7  per  cent,  in  the  East  South  Central  division, 
and  22.3  per  cent,  in  the  West  South  Central  <i 
sion. 

I  Miri-:  the  ten  years  from  1900  to  1910  the  popu- 
lation  of  th«>  rntirv  United  States  increased  by  21  per 
cent.,  while  the  urban  population  increased  34.8  per 
«  nt .  Looking  at  it  in  another  way,  of  the  total  in- 
crease in  the  population  of  continental  United  States 
during  the  last  decade  seven  tenths  was  in  urban 
territory  and  only  three  tenths  in  rural  territory. 


THE  MODERN  CITY 


45 


Concentration  of  Population. 

An  examination  of  the  census  of  1910  shows  fifty 
cities  in  the  United  States  having  a  population  of 
100,000  or  more  and  containing  in  all  20,352,138 
souls,  or  22.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  of  the 
country.  Nearly  one  tenth  of  the  total  resides  in 
the  three  cities  of  New  York,  Chicago,  and  Phila- 
delphia. The  rate  of  growth  of  these  three  cities 
during  the  previous  decade  was  32.2  per  cent. ;  of  the 
five  cities  of  from  500,000  to  1,000,000  it  was  20.4 
per  cent.;  of  cities  of  from  250,000  to  500,000,  34.7 
per  cent.,  and  of  cities  of  from  100,000  to  250,000, 
41.5  per  cent.  Towns  of  from  2,500  to  5,000  people 
increased  at  the  rate  of  36.8  per  cent,  during  the 
period. 

According  to  the  census  the  urban  population  of 
the  United  States  in  1900  and  1910  was  distributed 
as  follows: 


CLASS  or  PLACES 

NUM- 

BKB  OF 

PLACES 

IN 

1910 

AGGREGATE  POPULA- 
TION IN  — 

INCREASE, 
1900-1910 

1910 

1900 

NUMBER 

PER 

CENT. 

Continental  U.  8   . 

91,972,266 

75,994,575 

15,977,691 

21.0 

Territory  urban  in  1910 

Places  of— 
1,000,000  or  more.  .  . 
500.000  to  1,000,000 
250,000  to  500,000.  . 
100,000  to  250,000  .  . 
50,000  to  100,000... 
25,000  to  50,000  
10,000  to  25,000  
5,000  to  10,000  
2,500  to  5,000  

2,405 

42.623,383 

31,609.645 

11,013,738 

34.8 

3 
5 

11 
31 
59 
120 
374 
629 
1,173 

8,501,174 
3,010,667 
3,949,839 
4.840,458 
4,178,915 
4,062,763 
5,609,208 
4,364,703 
4,105,656 

49.348,883 

6,429,474 
2,501,226 
2,932,040 
3,421,849 
2,948,511 
3,028,007 
4,153,442 
3,194,278 
3,000,818 

44,384,930 

2,071,700 
509,441 
,017,799 
,418,609 
,230,404 
,034,756 
,455,766 
1,170,425 
1.104,838 

4,963,953 

32.2 
20.4 
34.7 
41.5 
41.7 
34.2 
35.0 
36.6 
36.8 

11.2 

Remainder  of  country  . 

46  THE  MODERN  CITY 

New  York. 

A  suggestion  of  the  size,  confusion  of  tongues,  in- 
crease in  population,  and  cost  of  administration  of  a 
great  city  is  indicated  by  the  following  description 
of  New  York : 

"A  feature  of  the  recent  New  York  budget  exhibit 
was  the  likeness  of  Father  Knickerbocker,  life  s 
gazing  in  wonderment  upon  some  statistics  relative 
to  the  city  of  which  he  is  the  personification.     'N 
York,  the  second  largest  city  in  the  world;  popula- 
tion, 5,000,000' — a  city  with  more  Jews  than  there 
ever  were  in  Palestine ;  more  Germans  than  in  any  < 
in  Germany  except  Hamburg  and  Berlin;  more  Bo- 
hemians than  there  are  in  Prague;  and  more  Italians 
than  there  are  in  Rome.    'One  million  five  hum! 
thousand  increase  in  ten  years;  equivalent  to  the 
combined  populations  of  Boston,  Kansas  City,  and 
San  Francisco.'    More  people  respond  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  mayor  of  New  York  than  did  to  the 
first  President  of  the  United  States;  and  the  < 
ployees  of  the  city  constitute  an  army  larger  than 
marched  with  Sherman  to  the  sea.    'Area,  327  square 
miles;  5,000  miles  of  highway;  2,000  miles  of  sewers; 
341  miles  of  water  front.'    A  birth  every  four  min- 
utes; a  death  every  seven  minutes;  a  marriage  ev 
eleven  minutes.    Annual  school  bill,  $30,000,000; 
$8,250,000  for  fire  protection;  $10,000,000  for  chari- 
ties.   Cost  of  a  single  election,  over  $1,050,000. 
Bonded  debt,  over  $800,000,000.    Total  budget  for 
1'»12,  $174,000,000." ' 

The  European  City. 

The  German  city  has  grown  as  rapidly,  possibly 
more  rapidly,  than  has  our  own.  There  are  thi: 

*  National  Municipal  Am**,  vol.  I,  p.  378,  Ford  H.  MaoQrafor. 


THE  MODERN  CITY  47 

three  cities  in  Germany  with  a  combined  population 
of  over  12,000,000  people.  This  is  20  per  cent,  of  the 
whole.  The  total  urban  population  in  Germany 
equals  49  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  The  German  city 
remained  nearly  stationary  up  to  the  middle  of  the 
century.  There  was  comparatively  little  growth 
from  1850  to  1870.  In  1871  only  25  per  cent,  of  the 
people  lived  in  towns  of  more  than  5,000  people,  at 
which  time  there  were  but  nine  cities  of  over  100,000 
population.  Now  there  are  forty-seven.  Accord- 
ing to  the  German  census  of  1910,  there  are  seven 
cities  in  Germany  with  more  than  half  a  million  pop- 
ulation. They  are  Berlin,  Hamburg,  Munich,  Leip- 
sic,  Dresden,  Cologne,  and  Breslau.  There  are  four 
other  cities  of  more  than  300,000  people,  and  twelve 
cities  with  more  than  200,000  and  less  than  300,000, 
and  twenty-four  others  of  from  100,000  to  200,000. 

In  Germany,  as  in  America  and  England,  the  city 
is  a  by-product  of  steam,  electricity,  and  trans- 
portation. Those  countries  which  lead  the  world  in 
industry,  commerce,  and  civilization  are  the  coun- 
tries in  which  population  is  predominantly  urban. 
And  in  none  of  these  countries  is  there  any  sugges- 
tion that  the  urbanizing  movement  will  be  checked. 
On  the  contrary,  from  decade  to  decade  the  cities 
draw  to  themselves  an  increasing  percentage  of  the 
population. 
The  Twentieth-Century  City. 

The  twentieth-century  city  bears  but  slight  re- 
semblance to  the  city  of  the  past.  It  is  no  longer  a 
place  of  refuge,  of  protection  from  attack.  It  has 


48  THE  MODERN  CITY 

lost  the  cohesion  of  the  family  and  the  clan.  No 
single  religion  unites  the  citizens;  no  legalized  caste 
divides  the  free  from  the  slave,  the  master  from  the 
apprentice.  It  is  no  longer  sovereign  as  it  was  in 
Italy  and  Germany.  It  has  become  an  integral  part 
of  the  state.  Its  life,  too,  is  no  longer  local,  it  has 
become  international.  Every  corner  of  the  world 
contributes  to  its  population,  as  does  every  race  and 
creed.  The  steamship  and  the  railroad  have  made 
the  city  a  clearing-house;  they  have  brought  New 
York  and  Pekin  into  closer  commercial  relations  than 
were  the  neighboring  communities  of  England  two 

•uries  ago.    The  power  of  the  hand  operat 
has  been  multiplied  into  many  horse-power  by  steam 
and  electricity,  while  tin*  division  of  labor  has  in- 
creased the  productive  capacity  of  the  individual  a 
thousandfold.    Tin*  industrial  city  is  a  new  fore, 
the  world. 

Summary. 

The  nineteenth-century  city  is  almost  exclusively 
an  industrial  product.  It  is  not  united  by  religious 
or  class  ties.  It  is  cosmopolitan  in  its  population 
and,  with  certain  limitations,  is  administered  on  a 
democratic  basis. 

The  most  rapid  urban  development  is  in  England, 
America,  and  Germany,  where  industrial  progress 
has  been  most  rapid.  And  in  these  countries  the 
city  is  the -dominating  force  in  the  life  of  the  nation. 
It  is  in  these  countries,  too,  that  urban  co-opera t 
has  advanced  most  rapidly,  as  a  response  to  the 
needs  which  the  city  creates.  This  co-operation  has 
been  both  voluntary  and  compulsory,  and  the  com- 


THE  MODERN  CITY  49 

fort  and  convenience  of  the  city  is  in  direct  ratio 
to  the  extent  of  this  co-operation.  The  greatest 
cities  of  the  world  are  those  in  which  co-operation 
has  been  carried  to  its  furthest  extreme,  as  in  Ger- 
many and  England. 

This  co-operation  has  been  necessary  because  of 
the  dangers  and  vicissitudes  of  urban  life.  Poverty 
has  appeared  along  with  the  factory.  Health  is  en- 
dangered by  disease  and  bad  sanitation.  There  is 
little  opportunity  for  recreation.  Education  can  no 
longer  be  left  to  the  home.  It  is  necessary  to  pro- 
vide many  services  from  a  common  plant  which  in 
rural  communities  each  individual  supplies  for  him- 
self. Crime  and  vice  appear,  which  must  be  regu- 
lated and  controlled.  Individual  property  rights  are 
increasingly  subordinate  to  the  public  weal.  The 
urban  worker  has  lost  his  independence  and  has 
become  an  employee,  while  the  home  is  broken  up 
by  the  entrance  of  women  and  children  into  industry. 

The  American  city,  too,  is  cosmopolitan;  it  draws 
its  population  from  all  over  the  world.  This  pre- 
sents new  problems,  new  difficulties.  Finally,  the 
modern  city  is  organized  on  a  democratic  rather  than 
a  caste  basis.  It  is  governed  by  elective  officials, 
responsible  to  the  public  through  the  ballot. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    AMERICAN   CITY— ITS   SUCCESS    AND    ITS 
FAILURES 

THE  city  is  assumed  to  be  our  most  conspicuous 
political  failure.  Municipal  office  has  rarely  at- 
tracted men  of  conspicuous  ability.  There  is  no 
permanence  of  tenure  in  the  higher  offices  and  no 
provision  for  the  expert.  We  have  had  few  munici- 
pal standards  and  few  conspicuous  administrations. 
There  has  been  little  thought  of  beauty  or  comfort; 
little  planning  for  the  future,  (jhe  boss  and  priv- 
ileged interests  have  controlled  the  party  and,  through 
the  party,  the  city  itself.^  In  addition,  up  to  very  re- 
cently the  spoils  systenl'has  prevailed  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  employees  whose  allegiance  has  been 
to  the  person  who  appointed  them  rather  than  to 
the  city  itself.  As  a  consequence  there  has  been 
much  inefficiency  and  dishonesty.  These  are  some 
of  the  more  obvious  failures  of  our  cit 

The  Personal  Interpretation  of  the  City. 

Three  explanations  are  usually  offered  for  these 
conditions.  They  arc:  first,  the  iruli (Terence  of  the 
voter;  second,  our  unyielding  partisanship  in  city 
elections;  and  third,  the  absorption  of  the  people  in 
material  pursuits,  in  trade,  commerce,  and  moi 
getting.  It  is  a  common  saying  that  we  get  as  good 
government  as  we  deserve. 

50 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  51 

This  may  be  termed  the  personal  interpretation 
of  American  politics.  It  ascribes  our  failures  to  the 
voters.  And  accepting  this  interpretation,  reform 
has  been  sought  in  non-partisan  movements,  in  the 
election  of  better  men  to  office,  in  the  rejection  of  one 
party  and  the  substitution  of  another.  Up  to  very 
recently  our  efforts  have  been  directed  toward  im- 
proving the  character  of  officials,  and  jthe  rallying 
cries  of  reform  have  been:  "Turn  the  rascals  out/' 
"A  business,  men's  administration,"  "Economy/7 
" Efficiency/'  1 "  Non-partisan  government."  This 
has  been  the  motive  of  reform  up  to  very  recent 
years.  We  have  treated  the  evil  as  personal  rather 
than  as  institutional. 

Inadequacy  of  Personal  Interpretation. 

None  of  these  movements  went  to  the  heart  of  the 
problem.  Not  infrequently  reform  administrations 
disappointed  their  supporters  and  quite  frequently, 
at  the  end  of  a  term,  they  were  turned  out  of  office. 
Through  experience,  too,  we  gained  a  deeper  insight 
into  the  underlying  causes  of  our  failures,  while 
within  the  past  few  years  magazine  writers  and 
criminal  proceedings  have  shown  that  the  trouble 
_is  not  personal  so  much  as  institutional;  that  our 
cities  are  what  they  are  because  of  obstacles  which' 
would  make  it  difficult  for  any  people  to  be  well 
governed. 

Before  discussing  these  institutional  conditions  let 
us  analyze  the  American  city  and  ascertain  to  what 
extent  the  current  estimate  in  which  it  is  held  is 
justified. 


52  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Some  Examples  of  Efficiency. 

And  a  survey  of  conditions  shows  that  a  number  of 
cities  have  been  honestly  administered  for  years,  and 
the  number  is  rapidly  increasing.  A  number,  too, 
have  been  animated  by  big  visions  of  social  achi< 
ment,  notably  Cleveland,  Toledo,  and  Los  Angeles. 
To-day  the  complaint  is  not  of  dishonesty  so  much 
as  of  inefficiency  and  the  absence  of  a  programme 
of  city  building. 

Some  city  departments,  too,  are  in  advance  of 
those  of  any  in  the  world.  Our  fire  departments 
have  long  been  efficient.  Fire  apparatus  and  the 
morale  and  training  of  men  are  generally  of  a  high 
standard.  Bad  fires  are  not  traceable  to  the  fire 
depart  ii nut  so  much  as  to  our  building  codes. 

The  free  public  library  is  distinctively  an  Ai 
can  institution.     No  country  in  the  world  has  opt 
up  branches  and  democratized  the  use  of  books  and 
reading-rooms  for  circulation  and  research  purposes 
as  have  we.     Travelling  libraries  send  books  into 
the  schools,  clubs,  and  even  to  private  individuals. 
Art  exhibits  are  organized  as  well  as  story-telling 
classes  for  children.    Library  boards  are  generally 
filled  with  men  and  women  who  take  pride  in  t! 
work,  the  administration  is  free  from  politics,  and 
service  rendered  is  of  the  most  public-spirited  k 
Commissions  come  from  Europe  to  study  our  libra- 
ries, just  as  commissions  from  this  country  go  to  1 
gland  and  Germany  to  study  departments  in  whi«  h 
these  countries  are  most  advanced.    The  free  public 
library  is  one  of  America's  contributions  to  munici- 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  53 

pal  administration.  It,  possibly  more  than  any  other 
municipal  function,  is  suggestive  of  what  the  Amer- 
ican city  can  do  when  free  to  realize  its  ideals. 

Our  Public  Schools. 

The  public  schools  of  America  are  fairly  compa- 
rable with  those  of  any  country.  With  us  education 
is  on  a  democratic  basis  and  it  has  the  virtues  and 
faults  of  its  ideals.  And  viewed  from  this,  the  demo- 
cratic standpoint,  our  schools  are  probably  as  effi- 
cient as  those  of  any  other  country.  And  there  has 
been  great  improvement  in  recent  years.  Boards  of 
education  are  commonly  filled  with  men  and  women 
interested  in  the  work,  as  are  the  higher  educational 
positions.  The  appropriations  for  school  buildings, 
for  equipment,  free  school-books,  gymnasiums,  play- 
grounds, kindergartens,  for  the  promotion  of  school 
hygiene,  nurses,  and  health  officers,  are  more  gen- 
erous and  progressive  than  those  of  any  other  coun- 
try unless  it  be  Germany.  Newer  school  buildings 
in  a  number  of  cities  are  lavishly  provided  with  con- 
veniences and  comforts.  They  are  equipped  with 
roof-gardens,  auditoriums,  gymnasiums,  lunch  and 
dining  rooms.  There  is  provision  for  manual  and 
technical  training  and  the  domestic  sciences.  In  the 
Northern  States,  at  least,  public  education  has,  for 
the  most  part,  been  of  a  relatively  high  order. 

Other  Examples  of  Efficiency. 

The  EJayground,  too,  is  an  American  idea.   It  had 
its  birth  in  this  country  and  here  it  has  developed     . 
most  rapidly.  £TSTo  other  country  has  utilized  it  as    5 
an  educational  and  social  force  as  have  we]  Nor  has 


54  THE  MODERN  CITY 

any  other  country  made  as  generous  provision  for 
parks  as  have  the  cities  of  America.  The  metropoli- 
tan park  system  of  Boston  is  probably  the  most 
tensive  of  any  in  the  world,  while  the  parks  of 
New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Cleve- 
land, and  a  dozen  ot  ies  are  comparable  to 
those  of  lesser  European  capitals.  Their  building 
has  awakened  the  enthusiasm  of  cities  and  compe- 
tent experts  have  generally  been  employed. 

When  we  consider  that  the  schools,  fire,  library, 
and  park  departments  involve  approximately  one 
half  of  the  city's  expenditure,  it  is  evident  that 
American  city  is  not  all  bad.    And  in  some  of  its 
activities  it  is  in  advance  of  the  world. 

Taxation. 

Most  important  of  all  is  the  fact  that  the  American 
collects  its  revenues  more  justly  than  do  any  of 
t  h»i  (it  ies  of  Europe.  For  we  collect  the  bulk  of  our 
taxes  from  real  estate  and  largely  from  land  values. 
Property  is  assessed  at  its  capital  or  selling  va 
upon  which  a  tax  rate  is  imposed,  varying  from  1  to 
3  per  cent.,  depending  upon  the  ratio  of  assessed  to 
actual  value.  Our  cities  collect  their  revenues  from 
property  rather  than  from  tenants  or  consumers,  as 
do  many  of  tho  cities  of  Europe.  And  in  so  far  as 
y  tax  land  values  they  collect  thoir  revenues  from 
the  unearned  increment  of  land,  which  is  a  so 
value  traceable  to  the  city's  growth.  That  this  is 
correct  basis  of  municipal  taxation  is  coming 
to  be  recognized  in  other  countries,  for  Germany 
has  recently  substituted  in  principle  the  American 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  55 

method  of  assessing  land,  while  more  than  five  hun- 
dred communities  in  Great  Britain  have  repeatedly 
petitioned  Parliament  for  the  right  to  levy  their 
local  rates  and  taxes  upon  land  values,  as  is  done  in 
this  country.1 

In  none  of  these  departments  have  we  attained 
perfection,  it  is  true.  There  is  not  that  refinement 
of  honesty  and  efficiency  which  obtains  in  Germany 
and  England.  JWe  sadly  need  the  expert  in  munici- 
pal affairs  as  well  as  permanence  in  the  administra- 
tive staff,  "taiere  is  still  too  much  politics,  too  great 
consideraSon  of  partisanship  in  appointments.  In 
this  as  well  as  in  the  character  of  our  employees  the 
city  reflects  general  political  conditions  as  well  as  the 
extreme  individualism  of  American  life. 

New  Standards. 

The  last  ten  years  have  seen  great  improvement  in 
all  our  cities.  The  criminal  indictments  and  dis- 
closures, the  scrutiny  of  public  affairs,  the  growth  of 
the  reform  movement  have  greatly  reduced  the  evils 
so  common  a  few  years  ago.  £The  character  of  offi- 
cials is  also  improving,  as  is  the  efficiency  and  hon 
esty  of  municipal  workT]  All  over  the  country  new 
standards  are  being  established,  while  recent  charter 
changes  have  simplified  machinery  and  made  it  easier 
to  elect  and  retain  competent  men  in  office. 

^Bureaus  of  municipal  research  have  been  estab- 
lished in  many  cities.  From  1906  to  1912  the  citi-  yj 

1  For  a  comparison  of  revenue  from  real  estate  and  other  sources 
in  the  leading  cities  of  the  world,  see  chapter  XXII,  "The  City 
Budget." 


56  THE  MODERN  CITY 

zens  of  New  York  raised  $500,000  to  enable  the 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Research  of  that  city  to  place 
the  city's^business  on  an  efficiency_basis.  Similar 
agencies  have  been  organized  in  Philadelphia,  Chi- 
cago, Cincinnati,  Hoboken,  Cleveland,  Milwaukee, 
and  elsewhere. 

These  bureaus  have  had  three  main  objects: 

First,  the  prevention  of  waste  and  the  increase  in 
the  efficiency  of  employees. 

Second,  the  study  of  the  best  means  for  doing 
public  work,  including  studies  of  the  city's  health, 
recreation,  police,  and  other  departments. 

Third,  the  promotion  of  new  activities  for  the 
to  undertake. 

•+*  Under  the  stimulus  of  these  and  other  investiga- 
tions, accounting  systems  have  been  standardized, 
methods  of  preparing  the  budget  have  been  worked 
out,  while  units  of  cost  have  been  established  for 
various  activities.  It  is  claimed  that  the  substitu- 
tion of  these  methods  in  New  York  City  has  raised 
the  standard  of  efficiency  from  possibly  40  per  cent . 
to  65  per  cent.,  leaving  a  large  margin  as  yet  unj 
fected.  Waste  continues  in  many  cities  in  the  supply 
departments,  because  of  the  failure  to  establish  a 
purchasing  bureau,  while  civil  service  rules  mak 
possible  for  many  incompetent  men  to  remain  in 
office,  due  to  the  difficulty  of  removal.  This  still 
further  increases  the  wastefulness  of  the  city.1  Hut 
the  most  important  advances  have  come  through  an 


1  For  an  exhaustive  itudy  of  the  progrefl  of  municipal  efficiency, 
aee  TH*  New  City  Government,  by  Henry  Bruere. 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  57 

awakened  public  sentiment  and  in  cities  animated 
by  a  democratic  ideal  like  Cleveland,  Toledo,  Los 
Angeles,  and  many  other  cities  of  the  West.  It  has 
come  through  an  insistence  on  a  different  kind  of 
city  rather  than  on  a  mere  improvement  in  the  details 
of  administration.  Some  of  these  changes  will  be 
described  in  later  chapters. 

Comparison  with  Other  Countries. 

Criticisms  of  the  American  city  are  often  based 
upon  a  comparison  with  the  cities  of  Europe,  espe- 
cially those  of  Germany  and  England,  in  which 
countries  municipal  administration  has  reached  a 
high  degree  of  perfection.  But  several  things  must 
be  borne  in  mind  in  such  a  comparison.  In  the  first 
place,  the  European  city  is  old  while  the  Ajnerican 
city  is  a  new  thing.  Cities  like  Berlin,  Dresden, 
Munich,  Diisseldorf,  Cologne  are,  or  were,  all  capi- 
tal cities.  Other  cities  were  rich  trading  centres. 
Frankfort,  Nuremberg,  Hamburg,  Bremen,  Brus- 
sels, and  Antwerp  were  free  towns  with  a  long  mu- 
nicipal history.  All  of  these  cities  were  beautiful 
before  the  industrial  city  was  born.  They  had  tra- 
ditions of  orderliness  and  symmetry.  There  was  a 
background  of  affection  and  veneration  on  the  part 
of  the  people.  The  German  city,  too,  has  always 
engaged  in  many  activities.  It  is  a  great  landowner. 
It  retained  possession  of  its  water-fronts.  The  rail- 
ways are  owned  by  the  state  and  have  not  disfigured 
the  city.  They  are  built  with  regard  to  its  beauty 
and  its  needs.  Because  of  these  conditions,  indus- 
tries are  located  on  the  outskirts.  In  addition,  pop- 


58  THE  MODERN  CITY 

ulation  is  homogeneous.  The  suffrage  is  limited. 
There  is  a  tradition  of  service  to  the  state  and  a 
desire  for  official  position.  Municipal  office  com- 
mands the  best  talent  the  community  offers. 

Cities  in  the  United  States,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
a  product  of  the  mill,  the  factory,  and  the  railroad. 
There  are  no  old  centres  or  historical  associations  to 
be  protected.  We  had  no  traditions  of  beauty,  no 
standards  of  workmanship  to  be  followed,  and  no 
experience  to  draw  upon.  Everything  had  to  be 
••  with  little  preparation  for  its  doing.  All  these 
conditions  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  any  <x> 
parison  of  the  cities  of  America  with  those  of  the 
continent  of  Europe. 
A  New  Element  in  City  Government. 

In  addition  the  American  city  is  training  great 
masses  of  people  in  the  art  of  self-government.    And 
this  is  one  of  the  ends  of  government.    With  us  t 
suffrage  is  a  personal  right.    It  is  extended  to  all 
men  and  in  some  States  to  all  women  as  well.    It  is 
not  a  property  or  a  tax-paying  privilege  as  it  is  in 
Germany  and  England.    Universal  suffrage  with  an 
untrained  foreign-born  population  still  further  c< 
plicates  our  problem,  although  it  is  not  the  cause  of 
our  failures,  as  many  people  assume. 

We  are  building  our  democracy  on  men  and  are 
developing  our  cities  on  a  human  rather  than  a  prop- 
erty basis.  This  has  been  a  temporary  burdri u  It 
has  probably  delayed  effi  But  it  involves  j 

self-government  and  a  sense  of  responsibility  on  the  j 
part  of  the  voters.    And  the  achievement  of  this  in 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  59 

itself  is  even  more  to  be  desired  than  efficiency. 
For  once  municipal  democracy  is  trained  and  or- 
ganized it  will  realize  itself,  probably  on  a  higher 
plane  than  in  any  of  the  cities  of  Europe. 
Wherein  Our  Cities  Fail. 

_If  we  analyze  the  city,  department  by  department,      / 
[we  find  that  efficiency  and  honesty  are  to  be  found  ll  * 
where  it  is  to  the  interest  of  business  to  insist  upon  \ 
efficiency  or  where  no  special  interests  find  it  profit-  If 
able  to  use  the  administration  for  special  privileges]  fj 
Business  demands  efficient  fire  protection  and  se- 
cures it.    The  parks,  playgrounds,  schools,  and  li- 
braries rarely  come  in  conflict  with  property  or 
privileged  interests,  and  in  consequence  they,  too, 
are  usually  administered  by  men  of  honesty  and 
ability.    These  departments  have  no  privileges  to 
grant  or  immunities  to  bestow. 

Private  Business  and  the  City.  >y/ 

JftjLs_jyhere  the  city  deals  with  business  interests  U 
lbhatj)ur  cojispicuouajaflures  arejfound.  It  is  here, 
too,  that  corruption  is  most  prevalent.  The  council  j  / 
regulates  and  controls  the  public  service  corporation; 
it  grants  franchises;  it  is  the  business  representative 
of  the  city.  Q?or  this  reason  it  is  to  the  interest  of 
business  to  control  the  council  as  well  as  the  depart- 
mental chiefs  that  enforce  its  ordersfjThe  police, 
too,  are  often  corrupt,  and  this,  in  turn,  is  largely 
traceable  to  an  antecedent  cause  in  the  State  laws 
which  seek  to  regulate  the  liquor  traffic  and  the 
excise  question,  with  the  strict  enforcement  of  which 
laws  a  large  part,  possibly  a  majority,  of  the  citizens 


60  THE  MODERN  CITY 

are  not  in  sympathy.  The  health  and  building  de- 
partments are  also  in  conflict  with  interests  which 
resent  being  regulated.  The  tenement-house  laws 
in  New  York,  as  well  as  their  enforcement,  have  been 
bitterly  fought  by  owners.  Attempts  to  make  build- 
ing ordinances  more  stringent  are  met  by  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  same  interests.  Dealers  in  milk,  meat, 
and  food  supplies  oppose  pure-food  acts  or  the  at- 
tempt to  regulate  weights  and  measures.  In  addi- 
tion, cities  rarely  have  the  right  to  build,  repair,  or 
clean  their  streets  by  direct  labor.  The  work  must 
be  done  by  contract.  This  introduces  the  con- 
tractor into  politics,  who  seeks  to  control  the  coun- 
cil and  the  director  of  public  works  because  they 
award  and  supervise  his  contracts. 

It  is  in  those  departments  that  the  city  has  most 
ally  failed.  And  the  cause  is  to  be  found  in  con- 
ditions which  breed  such  failure.  And  these  con- 
ditions are  traceable  back  to  the  powerlessness  of 
city  and  the  many  limitations  placed  upon  it  by  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  the  State. 

Similar  obstacles  are  to  be  found  in  the  chart 
the  machinery  of  nomination  and  election,  in  the 
long  ballot,  the  confusion  of  State  and  local  el«  <  - 
tions,  which  make  it  difficult  to  secure  responsible 
and  responsive  servants.  Not  only  is  the  eity  badly 
<  (Clipped  to  perform  the  powers  entrusted  to  it,  but 
the  machinery  of  politics  is  adjusted  to  the  ascend- 
ancy of  the  same  interests  that  resent  the  control  of 
the  city.  It  is  probable  that  any  people  would  have 
failed  had  they  been  compelled  to  work  under  sin  h 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  61 

limitations  as  have  been  imposed  on  our  cities — 
limitations  which  do  not  exist  in  the  countries  of 
Europe,  where  far  greater  freedom  is  allowed  to  the 
cities  and  much  simpler  charters  are  provided. 

The  Political  Philosophy  of  America. 

Back  of  these  conditions  and  ultimately  explain- 
ing them  is  the  political  philosophy  of  America,  a 
philosophy  that  made  no  provision  for  great  urban 
aggregations  of  people,  for  a  highly  complex  life, 
for  the  control  of  powerful,  impersonal  corporations 
such  as  have  come  into  being  in  recent  years.  From 
the  very  beginning  we  have  been  fearful  of  govern- 
mental interference  of  any  kind.  We  accepted  the 
political  ideas  which  developed  in  England  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  of  the 
Manchester,  or  laissez-faire,  school,  of  which  Adam 
Smith,  Ricardo,  and  John  Stuart  Mill  were  the  lead- 
ing exponents.  This  philosophy  said,  in  substance:  / 

"The  government  should  interfere  with  the  indi-  Q 
vidual  as  little  as  possible.  Each  man  is  the  best 
judge  of  his  own  interests,  and  if  each  person  is  per- 
mitted to  pursue  his  own  business  in  his  own  way 
then  the  community  interest,  which  is  merely  the 
aggregate  of  all  individual  interests,  will  be  best 
promoted.  Government  is  likely  to  be  stupid,  while 
government  ownership  is  inefficient  and  unwar- 
ranted. The  best  possible  society,  the  members  of 
this  school  said,  is  a  society  in  which  practically  all 
business  and  industry  is  left  to  individual  enter- 
prise, unhampered  by  the  State."  l 

1  For  an  excellent  analysis  of  this  philosophy,  see  The  New  Democ- 
racy, by  Walter  E.  Weyl,  chapter  IV. 


62  THE  MODERN  CITY 

These  principles  fell  in  with  the  habits  and  in- 
stincts of  a  pioneer  people,  and,  acting  upon  them,  our 
fathers  adopted  State  constitutions  which  limited  in 
great  detail  the  powers  of  the  legislature,  while  the 
legislature,  in  turn,  enacted  laws  which  limited  the 
powers  of  the  city.  These  constitutions  and  laws 
were  adopted  when  we  were  a  rural  people.  They 
fitted  into  primitive  conditions  very  well.  But  when 
the  city  appeared,  with  machine  industry,  new  forms 
of  transportation,  huge  aggregations  of  capital,  un- 
dreamed of  by  the  makers  of  the  constitutions,  a 
conscious  city  programme  was  impossible.  For  the 
city  was  powerless  to  control  its  own  lif e  or  its  own 
development.  It  was  helpless  under  the  legal  bonds 
which  enslaved  it. 
The  Ascendancy  of  Private  Rights. 

As  a  consequence  of  its  weakness,  business  inter- 
ests became  more  powerful  than  the  city.  They 
usurped  its  powers  and  activities.  That  which  had 
been  a  legitimate  liberty  in  the  country  became 
license  in  the  hirge  town,  a  license  which  the  « 
could  not  control.  Municipal  charters  gave  the  city 
little  power  to  engage  in  business  undertakings.  It 
could  not  regulate  property. \_And  by  reason  of  their 
p< merlessness  and  self-distrust,  t  .s  gave  away 

^r    valuable  franchises  for  water,  gas,  street-railway, 

and  electric-lighting  servicesj  JThey  permitted  real- 

-a.estate  owners  to  lay  out  their  property  as  they  de- 

tT  sired.'-y  Great  tenements  sprang  up  with  inadequate 
air  and  light.  The  railways  appropriated  valuable 
water-fronts.  Factories  were  built  without  any  lim- 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  63 

itations  on  their  height  and  with  inadequate  pro- 
vision for  safety.  The  city  had  little  power  to  regu-  > 
late  these  interests,  jts  ability  to  protect  the  health 
and  lives  of  the  community  was  also  inadequate. 
And  when  the  city  did  acquire  the  needed  authority 
the  evils  were  frequently  beyond  repair. 

Even  to-day  the  community  enjoys  far  less  power 
than  does  the  private  corporation,  much  less  power 
than  does  the  individual.  It  is  still,  for  the  most  part, 
helpless  before  the  large  municipal  problems  which 
confront  it.  Costly  as  has  been  the  waste  and  dis- 
honesty of  our  cities,  it  does  not  compare  with  the 
loss  involved  as  a  consequence  of  these  institutional 
limitations. 

Institutional  Causes  of  Our  Failures. 

This  negative,  individualistic  philosophy  lies  back 
of  the  constitutions  and  laws  of  the  nation,  the  States, 
and  the  cities.  It  has  moulded  our  thought  and 
created  a  public  opinion  that  sanctioned  the  ascend- 
ancy of  private  rights  and  the  subordination  of  pub- 
licjrights_.__As  it  affected  the  city  it  found  expression 
in  legal  limitations  of  various  kinds  of  which  the 
following  are  the  most  serious: 

1.  Lack  of  municipal  freedom  or  home  rule  in  the 
conduct  of  local  affairs. 

2.  Unworkable  city  charters  with  many  checks 
and  balances  and  limitations  on  the  power  of  officials. 

3.  Private  ownership  of  the  public  service  cor- 
porations which  use  the  streets. 

4.  The  ascendancy  of  private  property  in  the 
planning  and  building  of  the  city. 


64  THE  MODERN  CITY 

5.  The  regulation  of  the  excise  and  saloon  prob- 
lem by  State  laws  rather  than  by  city  ordinances. 

It  is  to  these  conditions  that  the  personal,  ethical, 
and  political  conditions,  which  are  generally  as- 
sumed to  be  responsible  for  our  failures,  are  for 
the  most  part  traceable.  Democracy  has  not  been 
given  a  chance.  It  has  been  compelled  to  work 
against  too  many  obstacles.  That  co-operation  re- 
ferred to  in  an  earlier  chapter,1  which  is  of  the  very 
essence  of  the  city,  has  been  so  far  inhibited  that  it 
has  not  been  permitted  to  develop.  We  have  en- 
deavored to  build  the  city  on  individual  lines  and 
have  failed.  It  could  not  have  been  otherwise. 

The  extent  to  which  our  cities  have  suffered  from 
these  legal  and  institutional  limitations  will  be  de- 
scribed in  the  following  chapters. 

Summary. 

The  American  city  does  not  wholly  justify  the  bad 
repute  in  which  it  is  held.  Many  municipal  func- 
tions, such  as  education,  fire  protection,  public  libra- 
ries, and  recreation,  are  administered  as  efficiently 
as  in  any  cities  in  the  world.  And  the  improvement 
in  all  departments  in  recent  years  has  been  phe- 
1  nomenal.  RJraft  and  corruption  are  being  rapidly 
;  eliminate^  while  new  standards  of  efficiency  are 
lx  ing  cstal>lishe<ir\This  has  been  brought  about  by 
an  awakened  public  sense,  which  has  manifested 
itself  in  improved  charters,  the  election  of  better 
ipen  to  office,  and  Hie  more  complete  control  of 
private  interests, 

The  failure  of  our  cities  is  not  traceable  to  the 

1  See  Chapter  I. 


THE  AMERICAN  CITY  65 

people  so  much  as  to  institutional  evils,  which  have 
made  good  government  difficult  if  not  impossible. 
Constitutions  and  laws  have  reflected  the  individual- 
istic philosophy  which  we  inherited  from  England, 
which  made  it  impossible  for  the  cities  to  cope  with 
the  problems  which  modern  industry  created.  We 
elevated  the  rights  of  private  property  above  the 
rights  of  the  State,  and  in  so  doing  left  the  com- 
munity powerless  before  the  powerful  private  in- 
terests which  have  come  into  existence  in  recent 
years.  This  philosophy,  in  turn,  was  reflected  in 
the  lack  of  home  rule,  in  unworkable  city  charters, 
and  in  the  ascendancy  of  private  property,  while  the 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  State  to  regulate  by  law 
the  excise  and  saloon  evil  added  a  problem  which 
still  further  complicated  the  situation. 

The  evils  of  the  American  city  are  largely  trace- 
able to  these  conditions — conditions  which  do  not 
inhere  in  the  people  so  much  as  in  the  political  en- 
vironment in  which  they  have  been  compelled  to 
act. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  CITY  AND  THE  STATE 

THE  political  status  of  the  American  city  is  trace- 
able to  the  Middle  Ages,  when  charters  were  issued 
to  the  towns  by  feudal  lords  or  the  crown  in 
change  for  a  money  payment  or  as  the  outcome  of 
a  struggle  for  freedom.  As  described  in  an  earlier 
chapter,  the  towns  came  into  existence  on  the  landed 
estates  into  which  Europe  was  divided.  The  inhabi- 
tants were  vassals,  or  serfs,  and  as  such  were  sub; 
to  dues,  rents,  and  taxes.  These  were  incidents  to 
the  feudal  organization  of  the  t  i  1 1  H  • .  The  towns  were 
in  reality  the  property  of  the  lords.  As  the  towns 
grew  in  wealth  the  citizens  became  restive;  they  re- 
sented the  dues;  they  desired  to  administer  t 
own  affairs,  to  levy  their  own  taxes,  to  maintain 
markets  and  regulate  trade  without  intervention  by 
the  suzerain.  And,  as  they  were  richer  and  more 
easily  organized  than  the  serfs,  they  obtained  sub- 
stantial freedom  long  before  the  end  of  the  feudal 
regime.  And  when  such  freedom  was  secured  a 
charter  was  granted  to  the  inhabitants  as  an  evidence 
of  their  rights.  It  was  like  Magna  Carta  obtained 
by  the  English  barons  from  King  John.  This  was 
tin'  origin  of  the  city  chart 

In  Germany  the  cities  became  almost  independent 

GO 


} 


THE  CITY  AND  THE  STATE  67 

of  the  state,  and  the  German  city  continues  to  enjoy 
a  position  very  similar  to  that  of  the  freistddte  of  the 
later  Middle  Ages.  But  in  England  towns  remained 
subject  to  the  King.  And  as  the  colonies  and  states 
succeeded  to  the  British  crown  they  assumed  the 
right  to  issue  charters  to  the  towns  just  as  they  did 
to  the  business  corporations  created  by  them. 

Through  this  evolution  the  city  has  become  the 
creature  of  the  State.  It  is,  and  always  has  been, 
a  political  subdivision  covering  such  area  and  having 
such  powers  as  the  constitutions  and  laws  extend  to 
it.  Legally  it  is  not  dissimilar  from  a  county  or  a" 
township. 

The  Status  of  the  City. 

In  some  States  charters  are  granted  by  general 
laws  applicable  to  all  cities,  in  others  by  special  laws 
for  a  single  city.  In  many  States  the  constitution 
requires  that  all  laws  of  a  general  nature  shall  have 
uniform  operation  throughout  the  State,  and  in  these 
States  all  cities  must  be  governed  alike,  no  matter 
what  their  size  or  needs  may  be.  Other  constitu- 
tions permit  the  classification  of  cities,  and  under 
such  a  permission  almost  every  city  in  Ohio  was 
formerly  in  a  class  by  itself.  In  the  absence  of  con- 
stitutional limitations  the  legislature  can  do  as  it 
pleases  with  the  city. 

The  city  has  no  powers  beyond  those  specifically 
given  to  it  and  it  has  no  rights  which  the  legislature 
is  bound  to  respect.  Its  charter  can  be  changed  or 
taken  away  at  will;  offices  can  be  abolished  or  cre- 
ated. Whole  departments  of  administration  can  be 


68  THE  MODERN  CITY 

taken  from  elected  officials  and  lodged  in  the  hands 
of  men  appointed  by  the  governor.  In  so  far  as  its 
legal  rights  are  concerned,  the  American  city  has 
less  dignity  than  the  mediaeval  town  whose  chart  cr 
had  the  sanctity  of  a  binding  contract. 
The  Subjection  of  the  City. 

In  practice  the  States  have  kept  the  cities  in  sub- 
jection. Rarely  have  they  granted  generous  or  c 
adequate  powers.  Influenced  partly  by  partisan 
considerations,  partly  by  private  interests,  partly 
by  the  suspicion  of  agricultural  members,  the  liberty 
of  the  city  has  been  only  grudgingly  widened.  As  a 
consequence  urban  needs  have  grown  more  rapidly 
than  the  power  of  the  city  to  meet  them.  Abuses 
have  become  so  firmly  intrenched  that  when  the 
finally  secured  authority  to  correct  them  it  was 
unable  to  do  so  because  of  powerful  private  interests 
identified  with  their  preservation. 

Generally  speaking,  the  American  city  has  large 
power  over  persons  and  but  little  control  over  prop- 
( it y.    Only  within  carefully  prescribed  limits  can  it 
regulate  the  street-railways,  gas,  electric-light 
water,  and  telephone  companies,  or  their  rates, 
charges,  and  services.    Up  to  very  recently  it  could 
not  limit  the  height  of  houses  or  the  amount  of 
space  to  be  covered  by  them.    It  has  meagre  po 
over  tenements,  factories,  or  steam  railroads.    It 
cannot  compel  the  landlord  to  lay  out  his  propoM 
in  harmony  with  the  city's  needs  or  a  prearranged 
plan.     In  all  these  matters  individual  prop< 
joys  a  license  not  tolerated  in  foreign  countries, 


THE  CITY  AND  THE  STATE  69 

license  which  is  further  insured  by  the  narrow  in- 
terpretation of  municipal  powers  by  the  courts. 
Lack  of  Power. 

Nor  can  a  city  issue  bonds  beyond  a  very  limited 
percentage  of  the  taxable  valuation.  It  cannot  in- 
cur indebtedness  in  excess  of  a  certain  amount.  It 
must  collect  its  taxes  as  the  State  directs  and  from 
such  objects  as  the  legislature  enumerates.  In  al- 
most all  States  the  rate  of  taxation  is  arbitrarily 
limited,  in  Ohio  at  a  point  so  low  that  cities  are 
unable  to  take  on  new  activities  or  perform  such 
functions  as  they  have  assumed  in  an  adequate  way. 

Only  in  a  few  States,  although  the  number  is  in- 
creasing, are  cities  permitted  to  frame  their  own  form 
of  government.  They  cannot  decide  for  themselves 
between  the  council,  the  federal,  or  the  commission 
form.  Nor  can  they  determine  the  number  of  elec- 
tive officials,  the  length  of  their  term,  or  how  they 
shall  be  nominated  and  elected.  The  charter  of  the 
city,  as  well  as  the  things  it  may  do,  are  all  fixed 
by  the  constitution  or  laws  of  the  State,  which  are 
rarely  adjusted  to  the  needs  of  the  city. 

Even  in  little  things  the  city  is  helpless.  Salaries 
of  employees  are  ofttimes  beyond  its  control,  while 
frequently  men  can  only  be  discharged  under  rules 
laid  down  by  a  State  law.  Almost  every  depart- 
ment of  administration  is  cramped  by  inelastic  laws 
which  check  efficiency  and  destroy  initiative. 

As  indicative  of  these  limitations,  the  city  of  Cleve- 
land found  some  years  ago  that  it  could  not  banish 
dogs,  chickens,  or  other  noise-making  animals  from 


70  THE  MODERN  CITY 

the  city.  It  could  not  manufacture  ice  for  charitable 
distribution;  prohibit  bill-boards  and  protect  the 
streets  from  disfigurement  by  signs  and  advertise- 
ments. It  was  unable  to  require  the  erection  of 
gates  by  railroads  at  grade  crossings  or  the  isolation 
of  tuberculosis  patients.  It  was  not  able  to  provide 
public  lectures  and  entertainments  as  a  part  of  ita 
recreational  programme.  For  none  of  these  powers 
had  been  specifically  granted  to  it. 
Evils  of  Enumerated  Powers. 

As  a  consequence  of  these  restrictions  cities  are 
constantly  appealing  to  the  legislature  for  powers 
which  they  should  enjoy  as  a  matter  of  course.  As 
examples  of  such  legislation  the  Municipal  Govern- 
ment Association  of  New  York  enumerates  the  fol- 
lowing special  laws  demanded  in  that  State:  a  law 
for  Binghamton,  authorizing  the  appointment  of  a 
stenographer  by  the  corporation  counsel;  for  New- 
burgh,  to  use  city  funds  for  band  concerts;  for  Co- 
hoes,  to  borrow  money  to  equip  a  fire  departm< 
for  Mount  Veraon,  to  borrow  money  for  building  for 
fire  and  police  departments;  for  Johnstown,  for  com- 
pensation of  the  chief  of  police  and  policemen;  for 
Oneonta,  for  sprinkling  and  oiling  the  streets;  and 
for  Buffalo,  for  power  on  the  part  of  the  board  of 
police  to  grant  leave  of  absence. 

The  general  condition  of  the  cities  of  New  York 
has  been  described  by  the  Association  as  follows: 

"The  cities  and  villages  of  the  State  of  New  York 
are  absolutely  under  the  domination  of  the  State 
legislature.  The  legislature  not  only  determines 


THE  CITY  AND  THE  STATE  71 

what  powers  they  may  have  but  prescribes  in  what 
manner  they  shall  exercise  these  powers.  State  in- 
terference in  purely  municipal  affairs  has  thus  re- 
sulted in  the  New  York  State  municipalities,  as  in 
other  States,  becoming  the  pawns  of  political  parties. 
Municipalities  may  be  created  or  abolished,  taxed  or 
untaxed,  practically  at  the  whim  of  the  dominant 
party.  The  legislature  may  create  needless  jobs  in 
any  city,  and  compel  the  city  to  pay  for  them.  Un- 
necessary and  undesired  agencies  of  government 
may  be  established  in  the  municipalities  by  the  leg- 
islature, irrespective  of  the  wishes  of  the  citizens. 
These  things  are  done  in  numerous  special  bills  every 
year." 

Commenting  further  upon  the  special  legislation 
made  necessary  by  this  dependence,  the  Association 
says: 

"It  would  require  superhuman  ability  on  the  part 
of  the  legislature  to  consider  adequately  the  merits 
of  such  purely  local  bills,  involving  as  they  do  local 
conditions  with  which  the  majority  of  the  legisla- 
ture cannot  possibly  be  familiar.  It  is  as  absurd 
and  stupid  for  the  legislature  to  be  forced  to  con- 
sider these  matters  as  for  the  board  of  directors  of  a 
railroad  company  to  decide  whether  a  station  agent 
should  purchase  a  dozen  lead  pencils. 

"  Many  special  bills  are  held  up  until  the  end  of  the 
session  by  the  leaders  of  the  State  machine  which 
happens  to  be  in  control,  as  a  threat  over  the  head 
of  the  legislator  if  he  fails  to  support  'organization' 
measures.  It  is  a  condition  which  makes  independ- 
ent action  on  measures  supported  by  the  machine 
very  difficult  for  the  average  legislator,  and  leads  to 
the  consideration  of  measures  on  all  kinds  of  grounds 


72  THE  MODERN  CITY 

which  have  nothing  to  do  with  their  merits.  A 
much  needed  bond  issue  in  Schenectady  may  be  held 
up  for  a  year  because  the  Schenectady  Senator  re- 
fuses to  vote  'right'  on  direct  primary  legislation; 
or  the  Saratoga  Assemblyman  may  vote  against  a 
Buffalo  charter  in  order  to  safeguard  his  $300,000 
local  appropriation  bill  under  committee  considera- 
tion. The  New  York  man  knows  little  of  the  needs 
of  Watertown,  and  vice  versa.  If  the  Watert* 
man  is  'in  right/  his  local  bill  goes  through— 
whether  or  not  it  contravenes  the  policy  of  the  local 
authorities  or  the  general  laws  of  the  State.  A  single 
slator,  by  sufficient  docility  to  the  machine,  can 
'trade  through1  a  measure  to  which  his  whole  city 
administration  may  be  unanimously  opposed.  This 
condition  inevitably  breeds  the  evils  of  log  rolling 
(at  times  it  breeds  corruption)  and  make- 
at  Albany  a  complicated  game  of  trading  and  petty 
bargaining. 

"For  all  this  the  cities  pay  the  bill.  Much  of  the 
waste  ami  inetlirienry  that  is  from  time  to  time  dis- 
covered in  our  munieipal  government  is  due  to  no 
fault  of  local  administrations,  but  entirely  to  man- 
datory legislation  from  Albany." 

Lack  of  freedom  is  the  most  serious  institutional 
burden  under  which  our  cities  labor.  For  the  e 
has  little  of  that  liberty  enjoyed  by  a  private  cor- 
poration and  none  of  the  independence  of  the  State 
or  the  nation.  It  cannot  control  its  own  life,  pro- 
vide for  its  own  peculiar  needs,  or  control  the  prop- 
erty within  its  limits.  Freedom,  liberty,  home  rule 
is  the  first  need  of  the  city,  and  in  the  last  analysis 
it  is  the  lack  of  this  freedom  that  explains  the  worst 
of  our  failures. 


THE  CITY  AND  THE  STATE  73 

Some  of  the  Results  of  State  Interference. 

(1)  State  control  of  the  city  discourages  initia- 
tive on  the  part  of  officials  and  interest  among  its 
citizens.  Officials  are  unable  to  carry  through  big 
municipal  policies  because  of  obstacles  which  con- 
front them  at  every  turn.  They  cannot  build  with 
a  vision  of  the  city  or  control  property  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  community.  The  city  of  Cleveland 
owned  a  small  electric-lighting  plant.  The  adminis- 
tration planned  to  enlarge  its  capacity,  to  light  the 
streets,  and  to  serve  private  customers.  It  required 
twelve  years  of  litigation  and  legislation  to  carry 
through  the  project  after  the  policy  had  been  deter- 
mined on.  Even  after  the  bond  issue  had  been  ap- 
proved by  the  people  by  an  overwhelming  majority, 
it  was  carried  to  the  courts  and  delayed  by  this 
procedure. 

For  nearly  ten  years  Cleveland  has  been  working 
on  the  grouping  of  its  public  buildings.  It  has  ac- 
quired almost  all  of  the  needed  land.  The  court- 
house has  been  completed  and  a  beginning  made  on  a 
city  hall.  But  the  city  is  unable  to  carry  out  the 
project  because  of  limitations  on  its  borrowing  ca- 
pacity. For  years  the  city  was  engaged  in  litigation 
with  the  steam-railways  over  the  lake  front,  and  for 
a  dozen  years  it  has  been  trying  to  adjust  a  contro- 
versy for  the  building  of  a  badly  needed  passenger 
station.  At  least  a  dozen  city  elections  and  as  many 
more  State  ones  were  contested  over  the  street-rail- 
way question  and  nearly  a  hundred  injunction  suits 
have  been  carried  to  the  courts  over  controverted 


74  THE  MODERN  CITY 

questions  arising  from  obscure  legislative  acts  or 
constitutional  provisions. 

(2)  The  inability  of  the  city  to  govern  itself  deters 
men  of  ability  from  entering  municipal  politics. 
There  is  little  to  awaken  their  ambitions;  little  to 
attract  talent.    For  city  administration  offers  little 
opportunity  for  a  career  because  of  the  constitu- 
tional and  legislative  limitations  which  bind  the 
hands  of  officials. 

(3)  The  ideals  of  individuals  and  of  the  commu- 
nity are  cramped  by  this  poverty  of  the  city.    Civic 
organizations   find   themselves   thwarted   in   th«'ir 
efforts.    New  proposals  are  met  with  the  object 
that  they  are  contrary  to  the  constitution  or  are  pro- 
hibited by  law.    Before  a  new  project  can  be  car: 
out  permission  must  first  be  secured  from  the  State 
legislature,  which  usually  meets  but  once  every  two 
years  and  is  composed  of  men  with  little  knowledge 
of  or  sympathy  for  the  needs  of  the  city.    New 
powers  once  granted  must  frequently  be  litigated 
to  the  supreme  court  to  meet  the  protest  of  some 
property  interests.    When  power  is  finally  secured 
it  is  frequently  too  late  to  be  of  any  value  or  can 

be  used  because  of  some  overlooked  prohibition  not 
provided  for. 

Municipal  enthusiasm  is  impossible  under  these 
conditions.  The  wardship  of  the  city  affects  the 
minds  of  all  the  people.  There  is  a  feeling  of  help- 
lessness on  the  part  of  the  community  which  palsies 
effort. 


THE  CITY  AND  THE  STATE  75 

Summary. 

The  American  city  is  a  ward  of  the  State.  It  has 
little  freedom,  little  of  the  home  rule  that  prevails 
in  Germany  and  that  characterized  the  cities  of 
mediaeval  and  ancient  times.  Such  rights  as  it  pos- 
sesses are  granted  by  the  State  legislature  and  are 
contained  in  the  charter.  The  city  has  few  implied 
powers,  and  those  that  it  does  enjoy  have  only  been 
grudgingly  widened  by  the  State. 

This  is  probably  the  most  serious  institutional 
evil  of  the  American  city.  Its  powers  have  not  kept 
pace  with  its  needs.  It  has  to  go  to  the  legislature 
for  every  grant  of  power,  and  in  consequence  is 
helpless  before  the  great  urban  problems  which  in- 
creasing population  has  created.  This,  too,  has 
affected  officials  and  citizens.  It  has  made  it  im- 
possible to  carry  through  proper  municipal  policies 
because  of  the  many  obstacles  which  prevent  their 
achievement.  Cities  cannot  borrow  money;  they 
cannot  determine  how  the  revenues  shall  be  col- 
lected; in  many  instances  they  cannot  even  control 
their  employees.  They  have  little  power  to  regu- 
late the  public  service  corporations,  landowners,  or 
builders.  Only  in  a  few  States  are  they  permitted 
to  own  the  street-railways,  telephone  and  gas  sup- 
plies. As  a  consequence  of  these  conditions  the  city 
has  been  cramped  and  confined  in  its  development 
and  the  process  of  socialization  has  been  retarded. 
It  lags  many  years  behind  the  need. 


CHAPTER  VH 
MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE 

BRIEFLY  stated,  "home  rule  really  means  that  the 
powers  of  local  government  shall  be  large  enough  to 
enable  localities  to  manage  their  own  affairs;  that 
they  shall  be  allowed  to  manage  those  affairs  without 
legislative  interference;  thus  causing  all  municipal 
citizens  to  feel  a  healthy  sense  of  responsibility  for 
the  conditions  in  which  they  live  as  well  as  the 
certainty  that  they  have  it  in  th«-ir  power  to  work 
distinct  changes  and  improvements  in  those  con- 
ditions."1 

In  other  word  :ty  should  be  an  almost  in- 

dependent agency  like  the  State  and  the  nation.  It 
should  be  free  to  frame  and  alter  its  form  of  govern- 
ment, to  determine  the  number  of  officials  and  how 
they  shall  be  nominated  and  elected,  to  engage  in  any 
business  activity  that  its  people  desire.  It  should 
decide  as  to  how  it  shall  secure  its  iv\ •< -nuos  and  how 
it  shall  spend  them,  as  to  its  own  indebtedness  and 
the  kind  of  taxes  to  be  levied.  The  city  should  be 
sovereign  in  its  own  field  of  action.  And  this  I. 
is  for  the  most  part  easily  determined. 

1  Home  Rule  for  Cttiet,  Robert  8.  Btnkerd.     Addren  to  Third 
Annual  Conference  ol  New  York  Mayor,  at  Utic*,  N.  Y.     Mm 
pal  Government  AnocuUioo,  New  York. 

76 


MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE  77 

The  Home-Rule  Movement. 

The  movement  for  home  rule  had  its  beginning  in 
Missouri  in  1875,  where  the  State  constitution  gave 
Saint  Louis  the  right  to  frame  its  own  charter  through 
an  elective  board  of  thirteen  freeholders.  After  the 
charter  had  been  draughted,  it  was  submitted  to  the 
electors  of  the  city  without  being  referred  to  the  leg- 
islature for  approval.  Under  this  provision,  Saint 
Louis  adopted  its  charter  in  1876  and  Kansas  City 
in  1890.<Jhi  1879  California  adopted  a  home-rule 
provision  to  the  constitution,  under  which  cities 
adopt  their  own  charters  subject  to  ratification  by 
the  legislature.  The  legislature,  however,  must  re- 
ject or  approve  the  charter  as  a  whole.  In  1889 
Washington  permitted  cities  of  over  20,000  popula- 
tion to  prepare  their  own  charters.  Colorado,  Wyo- 
ming, Minnesota,  Oregon,  Oklahoma,  and  Michigan 
have  since  widened  the  powers  of  cities  in  this 
regard.  Where  charters  are  prepared  by  local  com- 
missions they  must  be  ratified  by  a  vote  of  the 
electors. 

The  Ohio  Constitution. 

The  constitution  of  Ohio,  adopted  in  1912,  con- 
fers very  wide  powers  on  the  cities.  It  provides: 

(1)  That  any  city  or  village  may  determine  the 
form  of  its  government  either  by  electing  a  commis- 
sion of  fifteen  to  frame  the  charter  and  submit  it  to 
the  people;  or 

(2)  The  legislature  may  pass  a  general  or  special 
act  which  a  city  or  village  may  adopt  by  majority 
vote;  or 


78  THE  MODERN  CITY 

(3)  The  legislature  shall  provide  general  laws  for 
the  government  of  cities  which  will  automatically 
take  effect  in  all  the  cities  or  villages  which  do  not 
themselves  adopt  their  own  charters  under  (1)  and 
(2)  above. 

The  constitution  also  grants  cities  very  wide  dis- 
cretion as  to  the  activities  they  can  assume.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  powers  already  enjoyed  they  are  author- 
ized to — 

(1)  Enforce  police,  sanitary,  and  other  regula- 
tions not  in  conflict  with  general  laws. 

(2)  Acquire,  construct,  own,  lease,  and  operate 
public  utilities  and  issue  special  mortgage  bonds  in 
excess  of  the  general  limits  of  bonded  indebtedness 
prescribed  by  law,  which  mortgages  shall  be  a  lion 
only  on  the  property  and  earnings  of  the  utility  itself. 

(3)  Exercise  the  right  of  excess  condemnation. 
Under  the  power  to  revise  their  charters  many 

cities  immediately  called  conventions  to  draught  new 
charters.  Among  them  were  Cleveland,  Young»- 
town,  Dayton,  Springfield,  and  Columbus.  And  in- 
stead of  uniformity,  variety  was  the  result.  Cleve- 
land retained  the  mayor  or  federal  form  of  govern- 
ment, with  a  large  council  as  before;  Dayton  and 
Springfield  adopted  the  manager  plan;  while  a  num- 
ber of  other  cities  adopted  modifications  of  these 
plans;  in  other  cases  the  people  on  referendum  vote 
reject*  (1  the  new  proposals  altogether. 

The  New  York  Plan. 

The  last  session  of  the  New  York  legislature 
(1914)  adopted  what  is  known  as  the  optional  • 


MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE  79 

charter  bill,  which  went  into  effect  July  15,  1914. 
This  measure  gives  to  every  city  of  the  second  and 
third  class  the  right  to  adopt  any  one  of  seven  differ- 
ent charters  if  the  majority  of  the  voting  citizens 
desire  it.  These  plans  are  of  the  greatest  variety. 
Under  Plan  A  the  city  may  elect  a  council  at  large 
of  five  members,  one  of  whom  is  elected  mayor. 
The  terms  of  all  are  four  years,  a  part  of  the  mem- 
bers retiring  every  two  years.  The  mayor  is  a  cere- 
monial head  who  presides  over  the  council  but  has 
no  veto.  All  legislative,  executive,  and  administra- 
tive power  is  vested  in  the  council,  which  decides 
what  offices  are  necessary  and  fixes  their  duties, 
qualifications,  and  salaries.  All  subordinate  officers 
are  appointed  by  the  council  and  may  be  removed 
by  it. 

Plan  B  differs  from  Plan  A  much  as  the  manager 
plan  differs  from  the  commission  plan.  Instead  of 
the  actual  administrative  work  being  performed  by 
the  elected  officers  the  council  acts  as  a  board  of 
directors  and  chooses  a  manager  to  direct  the  admin- 
istrative work  of  the  city.  Under  this  plan  the 
mayor  has  substantially  the  same  powers  as  under 
Plan  A.  Under  Plan  A  members  of  the  council  are 
paid  substantial  salaries,  while  under  Plan  B,  inas- 
much as  members  of  the  council  are  not  expected  to 
devote  much  time  to  the  city,  the  salaries  are  on  a 
lower  scale. 

Plan  C  is  a  still  further  modification.  It  provides 
for  a  mayor  and  four  or  six  councilmen,  depending 
upon  the  size  of  the  town,  all  elected  at  large.  The 


80  THE  MODERN  CITY 

council  possesses  full  legislative  power.  The  admin- 
istrative power  is  lodged  in  a  city  manager  whom  the 
council  selects.  The  manager  becomes  the  admin- 
istrative head  of  the  city;  he  prepares  the  tentative 
budget  of  city  expenditures  and  reports  and  makes 
recommendations  to  the  council. 

Plan  D  provides  for  a  separation  of  the  executive 
and  legislative  departments.  Both  the  mayor  and 
the  council  are  elected  at  large,  the  mayor  being  the 
executive  head  of  the  city  with  the  power  to  appoint 
all  officers  created  by  the  council.  The  council 
elects  its  own  president.  The  mayor  has  the  power 
of  veto  and  receives  a  salary  three  times  that  of  the 
council. 

Plan  E  differs  largely  from  Plan  D  in  that  the 
council  may  consist  of  nine  persons  elected  at  large, 
the  powers  of  the  mayor  and  the  council  being  the 
same  as  under  the  preceding  plan. 

Plan  F  provides  for  the  mayor  or  federal  plan  in 
that  the  council  is  chosen  by  wards,  each  ward  being 
entitled  to  one  councilman. 

Plan  G  provides  for  the  adoption  by  third-class 
cities  of  the  existing  second-class  cities'  law. 

In  order  to  bring  about  the  adoption  of  one  of 
these  plans  a  petition  must  be  filed,  containing  the 
signatures  of  at  least  10  per  cent,  of  the  voters  re- 
questing it,  after  which  the  plan  is  voted  on  at  the 
following  election.  Special  elections  may  be  held 
by  order  of  the  council.  If  the  plan  proposed  is 
adopted  it  continues  in  force  for  a  period  of  four 
years,  during  which  period  no  other  plan  may  be 


MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE  81 

considered.  This  with  the  home-rule  bill  adopted  by 
New  York  in  1913  gives  the  cities  of  that  State  a  large 
degree  of  autonomy  and  frees  them  from  persistent 
interference  of  the  State  legislature.  A  full  home- 
rule  constitutional  amendment  is  required  to  secure 
to  the  cities  of  New  York  that  degree  of  freedom 
which  now  prevails  in  many  Western  States. 

Financial  and  Constitutional  Limitations. 

Even  in  those  States  which  have  granted  the  most 
generous  municipal  autonomy  many  limitations  re- 
main which  make  the  grant  of  less  value  than  ap- 
pears. Attempts  to  regulate  property  in  the  public 
interest  must  still  be  tested  in  the  courts,  and  if 
they  contravene  the  constitution  they  are,  of  course, 
illegal.  There  are  constitutional  and  legal  limita- 
tions on  the  amount  of  indebtedness  that  can  be 
incurred  as  well  as  on  the  rate  of  taxation  that  can 
be  imposed.  In  some  States  the  bonded  indebted- 
ness may  not  exceed  2  per  cent,  of  the  assessed  val- 
uation; rarely  can  it  exceed  10  per  cent.  These  lim- 
itations preclude  the  exercise  of  the  powers  which 
have  been  granted,  for  if  the  city  cannot  secure  the 
necessary  money  it  is  helpless  to  enjoy  the  rights 
extended  to  it.  In  Ohio,  for  instance,  where  cities 
may  own  the  street-railways  and  gas  companies,  they 
are  precluded  from  doing  so  by  limitations  on  their 
borrowing  powers,  while  the  tax  rate  is  limited  to  one 
per  cent,  for  all  purposes.  None  of  our  cities  have 
anything  like  the  freedom  enjoyed  by  the  cities  of 
Germany. 


82  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  German  City. 

The  cities  of  Germany  have  the  most  generous 
freedom  of  action  in  their  local  affairs  of  any  cities 
in  the  world.  The  municipal  codes  of  the  individual 
states  are  based  on  the  Prussian  law  of  1806  ui. 
which  municipal  corporations  enjoy  the  fullest  au- 
tonomy. They  are  almost  city  states,  like  Ham- 
burg and  Bremen. 

The  Prussian  law  as  interpreted  by  the  Prussian 
superior  administrative  court  means  that  no  law 
has  fixed  limits  to  the  activities  of  cities  as  cit 
To  the  cities  is  intrusted  severally  the  care  of  the 
moral  and  economic  interests  of  tlu'ir  citizens,  in  so 
far  as  special  laws  have  made  no  exceptional  pro- 
vision for  the  care  of  such  interests.  In  default  of 
such  laws  the  limits  of  municipal  activities,  o 
against  the  state  as  the  superior  controlling  author- 
are  to  be  found  only  in  cities'  local  territorial 
jurisdiction,  f.  e.,  in  the  local  character  of  municipal 
functions.1 

"There  are,"  says  Doctor  Albert  Shaw,  "in  the 
German  conception  «:  government  no  limits 

whatever  to  municipal  functions.  It  is  the  business 
of  thr-  municipality  to  promote  in  every  feasible  way 
its  own  welfare  and  the  welfare  of  its  citizens.1'  * 

Powers  of  German  City. 

Generally  speaking,  cities  can  do  anything 
are  not  specifically  forbidden  to  do.    They  can  do 
almost  anything  an  individual  or  a  private  corpo- 

1  Government  of  Emp«tn  C*e»,  by  W.  B.  Munro,  p.  110. 
« Municipal  Go*r*mttU  i*  Ctmtinmtal  Bmj*,  p.  828. 


MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE  83 

ration  can  do.  While  in  America  the  city  can  do 
only  those  things  that  are  specially  enumerated  in 
the  municipal  code,  in  Germany  the  city  enjoys  all 
the  powers  that  are  not  specifically  denied  to  it. 
Its  powers  are  not  dissimilar  from  those  of  the 
American  State  under  the  Constitution.  The  city 
can  borrow  such  money  as  the  council  votes,  subject 
to  approval  by  the  central  administrative  authorities. 
It  can  collect  such  revenues  as  it  needs.  There  is  no 
fixed  limit  to  its  bonded  indebtedness  or  the  tax 
rate.  The  city  can  engage  in  banking,  in  real- 
estate  speculation,  in  the  ownership  of  street-rail- 
ways,  gas  and  electric-lighting  companies;  it  can 
build  docks,  own  slaughter-houses  and  markets,  and 
manage  restaurants  and  wine-handling  businesses. 
It  can  build  and  manage  opera-houses,  theatres,  and 
concert  halls,  and  provide  in  countless  ways  for  the 
health,  convenience,  and  comfort  of  the  people.  It 
can  even  own  stock  in  a  private  corporation.  It  can 
speculate  in  land,  build  houses,  or  loan  money  to 
workmen  for  the  encouragement  of  home  ownership. 
It  can  engage  in  almost  any  kind  of  private  business 
and  make  profits  from  its  undertakings.  It  has  con- 
siderable latitude  in  taxation.  It  can  experiment  and 
through  experiment  work  out  new  sources  of  revenue, 
as  did  Frankfort,  which  devised  the  ingenious  un- 
earned-increment tax  adopted  in  1904.  This  tax 
proved  so  popular  that  it  was  immediately  copied  by 
other  cities.  In  a  few  years'  time  it  spread  all  over 
the  empire.  It  was  finally  adopted  as  a  source  of 
imperial  and  state  revenue. 


84  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  city  can  also  regulate  property  with  some- 
thing of  the  freedom  of  the  state  and  the  power  is 
rarely  interfered  with  by  the  courts.  It  can  plan 
streets,  lay  out  private  property,  limit  the  height  of 
buildings  and  the  lot  area  to  be  covered  by  them. 
The  German  city  has  every  needed  power  to  build 
and  plan  in  a  big,  comprehensive  way. 

Germany  has  built  the  most  wonderful  cities  in 
the  modern  world.  In  many  ways  they  are  the  most 
wonderful  cities  the  world  has  known.  The  explana- 
tion is  traceable  to  freedom,  to  the  sense  of  respon- 
sibility and  power  which  affects  all  classes.  M>  :i 
aspire  to  municipal  office  because  of  the  opportu- 
nity offered  them  for  service,  while  business  men 
bow  to  the  will  of  the  community  as  they  do  to  the 
will  of  the  empire.  They  recognize  its  sovereignty. 
As  a  result  of  these  conditions  there  is  a  fine  local 
patriotism,  a  city  pride,  like  that  which  animated 
the  cities  of  Greece,  of  mediaeval  Italy  and  ( 
many.  The  German  city  is  almost  a  stat< 
this  is  a  condition  precedent  to  any  highly  developed 
city  life. 

Summary. 

Municipal  home  rule  is  being  rapidly  extended  to 
th<  Amrriran  city.  It  is  being  endowed  with  the 
ri^ht  to  manage  its  own  affairs  in  its  own  way  and 
to  determine  for  itself  the  form  of  government  it 
will  havr.  Under  home  rule  the  city  is  being  in- 
trusted with  all  thoso  functions  which  are  exclush 
local  and  which  do  not  affect  the  State  or  the  nation. 
It  is  being  accorded  local  self-government  in  its 
local  affairs. 


MUNICIPAL  HOME  RULE  85 

The  German  city  is  the  freest  city  in  the  modern 
world,  and  the  wonderful  achievements  of  the  cities 
of  that  country  indicate  the  possibility  of  the  city 
when  it  is  free  to  develop  itself  as  its  needs  require. 
The  German  city  can  do  anything  necessary  for  the 
welfare  of  its  citizens.  The  municipal  code  enumer- 
ates only  the  things  the  city  cannot  do,  while  in 
America  the  charters  enumerate  specifically  the 
things  the  city  can  do.  And  there  are  few  legislative 
limitations  on  the  German  city.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  ripper  legislation  or  constant  interference 
by  the  legislature  with  the  city's  life.  Qt  can  own  hy 
property  and  carry  on  businesses.  It  can  speculate  * 
in  land,  build  houses  for  working  people,  or  loan  its 
credit  to  a  private  corporation.  It  has  also  power 
to  regulate  property  without  interference  by  the 
courts.  [By  means  of  this  freedom  the  German  city 
has  become  the  most  wonderful  city  in  the  modern 
world. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  CITY  CHARTER 

WHEN  large  numbers  of  people  act  collectively 
they  should  be  able  to  express  their  will  as  easily  as 
possible.  The  machinery  for  this  purpose  should  be 
simple  and  free  from  confusion.  There  should  be 
few  obstacles  between  the  voter  and  the  object  of 
his  desire.  In  order  to  insure  responsibility  those 
officials  who  determine  policies  should  be  elected, 
but  they  should  be  as  few  as  possible,  while  their 
duties  should  be  definitely  fixed  and  easily  ascer- 
tained. Finally,  the  issues  about  which  elections 
turn  should  be  free  from  confusion;  they  should  be 
easily  understood  and  be  so  identified  with  candidates 
that  a  definite  result  may  be  expected  as  a  result  of 
an  election. 

The  private  corporation  is  organized  along  these 
lines.    There  is  an  annual  meeting  of  the  stockhold- 
ers, held  in  accordance  with  the  regulations  of  the 
company,  which  are  brief  and  easily  understood,  i 
Stockholders  elect  a  certain  number  of  directors, 
who  in   turn  choose  the  president,  treasurer,  sec- 
retary, and  in  many  instances  a  small  executive  com- 
mittee to  manage  the  corporation   under  general 
orders  from  the  directors  and  in  harmony  with 
charter  and  by-laws  of  the  company.    The  pov> 

S6 


THE  CITY  CHARTER  87 

of  the  president  and  manager  are  ample;  there  are 
few  checks  and  balances  and  few  obstacles  between 
the  official  and  the  end  he  desires  to  achieve.  The 
development  of  American  business  is  in  large  part 
traceable  to  these  conditions. 
False  Political  Philosophy. 

This  same  simplicity  should  obtain  in  the  trans- 
action of  public  business.    But  the  reverse  is  true. 
The  spirit  underlying  our  political  machinery  is 
distrust.    Fear  of  officials  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
people  on  the  other  has  inspired  our  constitutions 
and  laws  from  the  beginning.    This  distrust  led  to 
the  system  of  checks  and  balances  between  the 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  departments  as 
well  as  to  the  distribution  of  responsibility  among  a 
large  number  of  officials.    It  led  to  the  long  ballot 
as  well  as  to  the  indirect  methods  of  nomination 
through  the   caucus  and  convention  and  an  un- 
willingness to  adopt  the  pure  Australian  ^ballot. 
The  city  charter  was  a  reflection  of  the  same  dis- 
trust.    In  place  of  simplicity  we  find  confusion. 
Where  there  should  be  responsibility  there  is  irre- 
sponsibility.   Instead  of  local  control  of  local  mat- 
ters we  find  State  interference  at  every  turn.     In 
the  performance  of  his  duties  the  voter  is  con- 
fronted   with    one    obstacle    after    another   which 
palsies  effort  and  discourages  interest.    All  of  these 
obstacles  are  devised  to  check  democracy  on  the 
assumption  that  the  people  cannot  be  trusted.    As 
a  consequence  the  machinery  of  the  city  is  unwork- 
able. 


88  THE  MODERN  CITY 

This  is  the  second  institutional  evil  of  our  cities. 
It  is  another  explanation  of  our  failures.  It  would 
have  been  difficult  for  any  people  to  have  secured 
efficient  government  under  the  charters  which  pre- 
vailed up  to  a  few  years  ago. 

Comparison  with  Europe. 

This  indirection  and  confusion  is  very  different 
from  what  we  find  in  Germany  and  England,  where 
municipal  administration  has  reached  its  highest  de- 
velopment.    In  these  countries  the  charter  is  simple; 
it  is  easily  understood  by  all.    There  is  but  one  offi- 
cial to  be  elected — the  councilman  from  the  ward— 
who  in  turn  meets  with  his  fellow  councillors  and  se- 
lects the  mayor,  clerk,  treasurer,  auditor,  and  all 
other  officials  whom  we  in  this  country  select  at 
polls.     In  England  the  machinery  of  nomination  is 
equally  simple.    There  are  no  caucuses  or  com 
tions;  no  intermediary  between  the  individual  and 
his  agent,  whom  any  ten  citizens  place  in  nomina- 
tion by  petition.    Dishonesty  or  inefficiency  are 
difficult  when  the  representative  is  known  by  his 
constituents  and  is  under  constant  scrutiny  for  his 
acts. 

The  Evolution  of  the  City  Charter. 

Up  to  about  1840  the  American  city  was  admin- 
istered under  a  two-chambered  council,  with 
mayor  chosen  by  the  council  or  elected  by  the 
people.  The  actual  administrative  work  was  per- 
formed through  council  committees,  much  as  in 
England  at  the  present  day.  This  system  worked 
tolerably  well  in  small  communities  where  the  activi- 


THE  CITY  CHARTER  89 

ties  of  the  city  were  limited  to  a  few  simple  functions 
of  a  routine  sort.  But  it  broke  down  in  the  larger 
cities  under  the  increasing  burdens  of  administration. 
Urban  population  grew  quite  rapidly  from  1840 
to  1860.  The  first  disciplined  police  force  was  pro- 
vided for  in  New  York  in  1845,  while  a  paid  fire 
department  was  started  the  same  year.  Municipal 
water  plants  were  constructed  in  Washington,  Chi- 
cago, and  Baltimore  between  1845  and  1855,  while 
public  parks  began  to  be  planned  in  the  larger  cities. 
Streets  were  better  paved,  poor  relief  became  a 
municipal  function,  while  private  corporations  began 
to  apply  for  franchises  for  the  supplying  of  water, 
gas,  and  transportation. 

The  Board  Plan. 

Under  increasing  burdens  and  the  growth  of  pop- 
ulation municipal  administration  through  council 
committees  broke  down,  and  from  1860  to  1880  de- 
tached departments  or  boards  were  created  to  which 
was  intrusted  the  performance  of  certain  functions. 
The  police,  fire,  water,  and  park  departments  were 
frequently  taken  away  from  the  council  and  in- 
trusted to  boards  sometimes  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor, sometimes  by  the  mayor.  The  Ohio  law  of 
1852  provided  for  nearly  twenty  officials  and  com- 
missions. In  1858  the  legislature  of  New  York  pro- 
vided for  a  State  park  commission  for  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  and  adjoining  communities.  In  1860 
Maryland  created  a  State  police  commission  for 
Baltimore,  and  the  following  year  Illinois  trans- 
ferred the  control  of  its  police  to  a  State  board.  In 


90  THE  MODERN  CITY 

1865  the  fire  and  health  departments  as  well  as  the 
licensing  of  the  liquor  traffic  were  placed  under 
State  boards  in  New  York.  In  1870  the  legislature 
of  Pennsylvania  created  a  commission  to  construct 
the  city  hall  in  Philadelphia.  The  New  York  char- 
t'-r  of  1873  provided  for  a  large  number  of  boards 
and  individuals  who  were  independent  of  both  the 
mayor  and  the  city  council.  Terms  of  appointment 
and  tenure  were  interlocked  in  such  a  way  that  no 
individual  mayor  could  appoint  all  the  members. 
Sometimes  the  members  were  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor, sometimes  by  the  mayor,  sometimes  they 
were  elected  by  the  people. 

Boston  is  the  only  large  city  at  the  present  time 
in  which  a  number  of  municipal  departments  are 
under  State  control.  But  Boston  lies  in  the  centre 
of  a  number  of  smaller  municipalities  which  form  a 
continuous  metropolitan  area.  The  park,  water,  and 
sewage  systems  were  constructed  and  are  still  oper- 
ated by  metropolitan  boards,  while  the  police,  fire, 
and  civil  service  departments  are  in  the  hands  of 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  governor. 

In  many  instances  the  boards  or  commissions  en- 
joyed almost  complete  control  of  their  departments; 
they  not  only  directed  their  administration  but  de- 
termined the  policy  without  reference  to  the  < 
itself.  In  some  instances  the  boards  could  borrow 
money  without  the  sanction  of  the  council  and  levy 
taxes  the  same  as  an  independent  corporation. 

The  board  system  carried  irresponsibility  to  its 
limits.  There  was  constant  conflict  between  do- 


THE  CITY  CHARTER  91 

partments.  It  was  difficult  to  locate  responsibility 
and  when  it  was  located  even  more  difficult  to  correct 
it,  for  the  boards  were  not  elected  and  the  terms  of 
members  expired  in  different  years.  The  board  sys- 
tem was  gradually  superseded  by  the  so-called  fed- 
eral or  mayor  plan,  which  will  be  described  later.  At 
the  present  time  there  are  no  large  cities  in  the  coun- 
try, with  the  exception  of  Boston,  in  which  the 
State  appoints  and  controls  purely  local  officials. 
And  outside  of  a  few  instances  the  board  plan  has 
been  abandoned. 

The  City  a  Pawn  of  Politics  and  Business. 

The  generation  which  followed  the  Civil  War  was 
the  darkest  period  of  our  municipal  history.  The 
cities  were  sacrificed  to  national  politics.  In  the 
Northern  States  local  issues  were  subordinated  to 
the  preservation  of  the  protective  tariff.  Partisan- 
ship ran  high  and  corruption  was  general.  The 
police  were  necessary  to  make  possible  the  commis- 
sion of  ballot  frauds,  while  the  spoils  of  office  were 
invaluable  to  the  machine.  By  means  of  ripper  leg- 
islation the  party  in  control  of  the  State  controlled 
the  offices  of  the  city.  When  the  Democratic  party 
was  in  power  it  legislated  in  the  interests  of  the 
Democratic  party;  and  when  the  Republican  party 
was  in  power  it  legislated  for  its  exclusive  ad- 
vantage. Local  questions  were  of  secondary  im- 
portance and  public  opinion  acquiesced  in  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  city  to  national  questions  with  but  little 
organized  protest.  This  sacrifice  of  the  city  to 
national  questions  and  especially  to  the  protective 


92  THE  MODERN  CITY 

tariff  was  the  beginning  of  the  degradation  of  our 
cities  which  characterized  the  last  twenty  years  of 
the  century. 

All  kinds  of  interests  took  advantage  of  these  con- 
ditions. There  was  a  carnival  of  franchise  grants  to 
public  service  corporations,  especially  to  the  street- 
railway  companies,  which  secured  perpetual  or  long- 
time franchises.  Sometimes  they  acquired  them 
from  the  State  legislature,  as  was  the  case  in  Ohio, 
where  fifty-year  grants  were  made  of  the  streets  of 
Cincinnati,  but  more  frequently  they  issued  from 
the  city  councils.  The  Broadway  franchise  of  New 
York,  the  attempted  Yerkes  grants  in  Chicago,  and 
the  exploitation  of  Philadelphia  and  a  dozen  other 
cities  were  examples  of  a  condition  that  was  uni- 
versal. Other  interests  were  also  active.  There  was 
a  merger  of  politics  and  business,  of  the  underworld 
and  vice,  that  began  with  the  city  and  extended  to 
Washington.  The  city  was  a  pawn  of  national  and 
State  politics  to  be  used  by  the  party  or  interests  in 
po\v 

These  conditions  prevailed  very  generally  up  to 
the  end  of  the  century.  There  was  a  bipartisan 
organization  within  the  city  which  was  an  integral 
part  of  the  bipartisan  machine  of  the  State.  The 
average  citizen,  who  wanted  nothing  but  honest 
government ,  was  at  a  hopeless  disadvantage.  There 
were  no  direct  primaries.  In  making  nominations 
the  citizen  had  first  to  find  honest  delegates  and 
then  hold  them  responsible  to  the  will  of  their  sup- 
porters. City  elections  were  held  at  the  same  time 


THE  CITY  CHARTER  93 

as  those  of  the  State  and  the  nation,  all  the  nom- 
inees being  on  the  same  blanket  ballot.  During 
these  years  popular  government  in  city,  State,  and 
nation  reached  its  lowest  ebb.  -£&& 

The  Nominal  and  the  Real  Government.  t^lm 

The  boss  was  a  natural  product  of  this  confusion. 
He  alone  was  able  to  control  the  caucus,  the  conven- 
tion, the  multiplicity  of  offices,  and  make  the  ma- 
chinery work.  He  gave  out  jobs  to  his  friends,  who 
in  turn  delivered  votes  at  the  caucus  and  election. 
In  this  way  a  hierarchy  of  spoilsmen  was  established 
running  from  the  precinct,  through  the  ward,  up  to 
the  city  as  a  whole.  With  a  voting  army  at  his  back 
the  boss  was  able  to  dictate  a  slate;  he  was  in  a 
position  to  trade  legislation  for  money  or  influence, 
to  relieve  property  from  taxation  or  grant  franchises 
to  his  friends.  He  disposed  of  contracts  for  paving 
and  street  cleaning,  for  building  sewers,  collecting 
garbage,  erecting  schools  and  police  and  fire  stations. 
He  could  decide  the  kind  of  paving  to  be  used  and 
the  prices  to  be  paid.  He  allowed  encroachments 
upon  the  streets  and  granted  immunities  to  his 
friends  and  supporters  in  the  saloon,  gambling,  and 
vice  business.  This,  in  turn,  created  a  corruption 
fund  to  be  used  in  elections.  In  a  city  like  New 
York  the  tribute  from  these  sources  amounted  to 
millions  of  dollars  a  year. 
"The  System." 

Out  of  this  a  new  system  evolved.  Business  priv- 
ilege became  dominant.  The  boss  graduated  from 
his  vulgar  position  and  became  an  ally  of  the  big 


94  THE  MODERN  CITY 

business  corporations,  especially  those  enjoying  fran- 
,-cJhises  from  the  city  with  which  he  was  affiliated. 
Politics  became  the  most  profitable  kind  of  business, 
and  the  business  men  who  had  received  privileges 
from  the  boss  became  greater  than  their  benefac- 
tor. For  they  owned  or  controlled  the  banks  and 
"the  press,  they  were  ascendant  in  State  and  federal 
politics.  Finally,  business  interests  superseded  the 
boss,  who  became  their  agent,  as  was  the  case  in 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  in  almost 
all  the  States  which  contained  large  cities. 

As  a  result  of  these  conditions  there  came  to  exist 
a  real  government  on  the  one  hand  and  a  nominal 
government  on  the  other.  The  nominal  officials  were 
voted  for  by  the  people  but  were  really  selected  by 
the  boss  and  by  special  interests  which  supported 
boss.  The  real  government  was  invisible;  it  stood 
hdii i id  the  nominal  officials  elected  by  the  people. 

These  conditions  were  the  product  of  bad  char- 
ters on  the  one  hand  and  our  laissez-faire  philoso- 
phy on  the  other.  Each  reacted  on  the  other.  It 
was  difficult  to  secure  either  responsive  or  respon- 
sible government  under  the  charters  which  ob- 
tained, while  privileged  interests  made  use  of  these 
charters  to  prevent  any  reforms  which  imper- 
illrd  their  power.  And  back  of  the  charter  and 
the  public  service  corporations  was  an  attitude 
of  mind  which  distrusted  any  increase  in  the  powers 
of  the  government  and  approved  of  the  checks  and 
balances  which  were  the  characteristic  features  of 
city  charters  up  to  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 


THE  CITY  CHARTER  95 

tury.  When  one  studies  the  charters  of  the  Ameri- 
can city  which  preceded  the  reforms  of  the  past 
fifteen  years  the  wonder  is  not  that  our  cities  were 
so  badly  governed  but  that  they  were  governed  so 
well.  For  municipal  charters  violated  almost  every 
principle  of  responsible  or  representative  govern- 
ment and  scarcely  pretended  to  be  democratic. 

Summary. 

Municipal,  State,  and  national  politics  in  America 
have  been  organized  on  the  basis  of  distrust.  This  is 
the  animating  motive  of  our  federal  and  State  con- 
stitutions as  well  as  the  charters  of  our  cities.  As  a 
consequence  of  this  fear  of  the  people  the  machinery 
of  nomination  and  election  has  been  very  confusing. 
There  are  a  large  number  of  officials  to  be  elected. 
In  consequence  the  voter  is  confronted  with  many 
obstacles  in  the  carrying  out  of  his  will.  The  same 
confusion  prevails  in  the  administration  of  the  city. 
Independent  legislative  and  executive  agencies  se- 
lected by  different  constituencies  have  blocked  ef- 
ficiency and  impaired  initiative. 

This  condition  prevailed  up  to  the  end  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  It  made  the  city  an  easy  prey  to 
political  parties  on  the  one  hand  and  business  in- 
terests on  the  other.  The  parties  sacrificed  the 
cities  to  their  own  advantage  and  ultimately  became 
allied  with  business  interests  seeking  franchise  grants 
and  other  privileges  which  the  parties  in  power  were 
able  to  grant  through  their  control  of  the  city.  This 
combination  of  party  organization  and  business  inter- 
ests brought  about  the  almost  complete  degradation 
of  the  American  city  during  the  generation  which 
followed  the  Civil  War.  Through  it  the  boss  was 
elevated  into  power.  He  created  a  political  hier- 


96  THE  MODERN  CITY 

archy  which  despoiled  the  city  for  the  benefit  of 
Pspecial  interests.  Finally,  big  business  privileges 
I  superseded  the  boss  and  became  dominant.  They, 
I  in  turn,  became  the  real  government. 

These  conditions,  in  the  last  analysis,  were  the 
product  of  the  laissez-faire  philosophy  which  has 
moulded  our  politics  for  over  a  century.  The  dis- 
trust of  officials  on  the  one  hand  and  the  people  on 
the  other  led  to  the  denial  of  home  rule,  to  unwork- 
able city  charters,  and  the  ascendancy  of  private 
interests  which  turned  these  political  conditions  to 
their  own  private  profit. 


CHAPTER  IX 
RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES 

THE  conditions  described  in  the  preceding  chapter 
are  changing  very  rapidly.  The  invisible  govern- 
ment is  passing  and  the  actual  is  being  merged  with 
the  nominal.  Progress  along  these  lines  has  been 
phenomenal,  and  to-day,  in  a  large  number  of  cities, 
the  transition  is  nearly  complete.  Private  inter- 
ests are  still  active.  They  own  or  influence  the 
press.  They  employ  the  leading  members  of  the 
bar.  And  in  many  cities  they  are  still  in  alliance 
with  the  underworld.  But  their  power,  too,  is  pass- 
ing. They  are  no  longer  ascendant  in  municipal  poli- 
tics as  they  were  a  few  years  ago. 

Municipal  Progress. 

The  municipal  advance  of  the  past  ten  years  has 
been  largely  brought  about  by  charter  changes  of 
which  the  following  are  the  most  important: 

(1)  The  substitution  of  the  simple,  direct  pri- 
mary, with  nominations  by  petition,  for  the  caucus 
and   convention  and   the   abandonment  of  party 
tickets  and  emblems  in  the  election; 

(2)  The  abolition  of  separate  boards  and  commis- 
sions and  the  two-chambered  council  and  the  con- 
centration of  legislative  power  in  a  small  single 
chamber  sometimes  elected  by  wards,  sometimes  at 

large; 

97 


98  THE  MODERN  CITY 

(3)  The  short  ballot;  and 

(4)  The  federal,  commission,  and  manager  form 
of  administration. 

All  of  these  changes  make  for  directness.  They 
substitute  simplicity  for  complexity  and  establish  a 
direct  line  of  responsibility  between  the  people  and 
their  agents.  PThis  is  the  essence  of  democracy?^ 

Three  general  types  of  charters  have  been  evolved, 
which  may  be  described  as  the  mayor  or  federal 
plan,  the  commission  plan,  and  the  manager  plan. 
The  mayor  plan  has  been  generally  adopted  by  the 
larger  municipalities,  the  commission  and  manager 
plans  by  cities  of  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  in- 
habitants. The  mayor  plan  prevails  in  the  East; 
the  commission  and  manager  plans  in  the  West. 
The  first  concentrates  power  in  the  executive  de- 
partment, the  others  in  a  group  or  a  manager  respon- 
sible to  the  group. 

The  Federal  or  Mayor  Plan. 

Under  the  federal  plan  the  legislative  department 
is  reduced  to  a  single  chamber  elected  by  wards. 
All  administrative  authority  is  taken  from  the  coun- 
cil or  ite  committees,  or  independent  boards,  and 
is  lodged  in  the  mayor,  who  becomes  the  respon- 
sible administrative  head  of  the  city.  He  appoints 
and  removes  at  will  all  departmental  heads,  who 
become  his  aids.  The  council  is  reduced  in  size 
and  becomes  a  legislative  body  pure  and  simple 

Under  some  charters  the  mayor  and  heads  of  the 
departments  are  given  a  seat  in  the  council  with  the 
right  to  speak  but  not  to  vote.  The  mayor  has 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES      99 

a  veto  on  all  ordinances;  in  some  cities  he  may  veto 
appropriations  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  in  many  in- 
stances he  introduces  the  budget,  which  is  prepared 
by  the  departments  rather  than  by  the  council.  As 
worked  out  in  many  cities,  the  mayor  has  become  the 
virtual  government  while  the  council  is  little  more 
than  a  registering  or  protesting  body.  Chicago  is 
an  exception,  in  which  city  the  council  is  still  an 
active  agency  in  administration  and  contains  many 
men  of  influence  in  the  community. 

The  federal  plan  is  a  great  advance  over  the  board 
plan  or  the  council  plan  which  it  superseded.  The 
substitution  of  a  single  chamber  for  a  two-chambered  / 
body  reduces  log-rolling,  secrecy,  and  trading  in  leg-.nfc 
islation.  Concentration  of  power  in  the  hands  of 
the  mayor  simplifies  administration  still  further  and 
^maEelTit  possible  to  locate  responsibility.  At  the 
same  time  able  men  are  attracted  to  city  politics 
by  the  opportunity  to  achieve  a  career  or  to  carry 
out  a  policy.  Departments  cannot  now  shift  respon- 
sibility for  their  acts  as  they  could  under  the  old 
system.  The  achievements  of  Cleveland,  Toledo, 
Detroit,  Baltimore,  and  New  York  are  largely  trace- 
able to  the  improved  machinery  of  the  federal  plan, 
which  is  now  the  rule  in  the  larger  cities.  This  was 
the  first  great  forward  step  in  the  administration  of 
the  American  city. 

The  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Charter. 

The  charter  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  adopted  under  a 
home-rule  provision  of  the  constitution  in  July, 
1913,  is  in  many  ways  the  most  advanced  charter 


100  THE  MODKIiN    (  ITV 

of  the  mayor  type  yet  adopted.  Cleveland  is  a  city 
of  700,000  people,  with  a  large  foreign  population. 
For  fifteen  years,  during  ten  of  which  Tom  L.  John- 
son was  mayor,  its  administration  has  been  on  a 
high  plane  of  honesty  and  efficiency.  People  have 
been  educated  on  public  questions  as  in  no  city  in 
America,  and  the  charter  adopted  was  the  outcome 
of  long  study  and  seasoned  convictions. 

The  charter  was  prepared  by  a  special  commis- 
sion after  six  months'  study  of  the  subject.  The 
commission  was  composed  of  men  of  experience  and 
intelligence,  interested  only  in  securing  the  best  pos- 
sible form  of  municipal  government.  The  essential 
features  of  the  charter  are  the  following: 

(a)  The  mayor  is  elected  by  the  people  directly 
for  a  two-year  term.  His  salary  is  fixed  by  the 
council.  He  is  the  responsible  administrative  head 
of  the  city. 

(6)  artments  are  provided  for,  the  directors 

of  which  arc  appointed  and  may  be  removed  by  the 
mayor.  These  departments  are  law,  public  service, 
public  \\clfaiv,  public  safety,  finance,  and  public 
utilities.  Tli-  duties  of  the  directors  of  each  depart- 
ment are  closely  defined,  so  that  responsibility  is 
easily  located. 

(c)  In  addition  to  the  above  departments,  pro- 
vision is  made  for  a  city  planning  commission,  a 
bureau  of  information  and  publicity,  a  civil  service 
commission,  and  other  unsalaried  advisory  boards. 

(d)  The  council  consists  of  twenty-six  members, 
fleeted  from  wards  for  a  term  of  two  years.    The 


RECENT  CHARTS!!.  CHANGES  101 

mayor  and  heads  of  departments  have  seats  in  the 
council  chamber,  with  the  right  to  take  part  in  dis- 
cussions but  without  the  right  to  vote. 

Only  two  officials  are  to  be  elected  by  the  voter, 
the  mayor  and  the  councilman  from  the  ward.  This 
reduces  the  ballot  to  the  shortest  possible  compass. 
The  merit  system  is  applied  to  all  city  employees. 

The  charter  provides  that  no  exclusive  grants  to 
public  service  corporations  shall  be  permitted;  that 
all  ordinances  making  grants  or  renewals  shall  reserve 
to  the  city  the  right  of  purchase  and  the  power  of 
regulation.  The  franchise  department  is  charged 
with  the  enforcement  of  all  city  ordinances  and 
regulations  over  utility  corporations. 

All  council  proceedings  are  to  be  printed  in  the 
City  Record,  a  municipal  publication,  rather  than  in 
the  local  papers.  The  Record  is  to  contain  such  other 
information  as  the  council  provides. 

Popular  control  of  officials  and  legislation  is  pro- 
vided in  a  variety  of  ways. 

(a)  Party  primaries  are  eliminated,  candidates 
being  nominated  by  petition  only. 

(6)  There  are  no  party  designations  on  any  ballot. 

(c)  The  preferential  system  of  voting  provides 
that  the  elector  shall  express  his  first,  second,  and 
other  choices  of  nominees.    The  object  of  preferen- 
tial voting  is  to  secure  majority  rather  than  minor- 
ity rule. 

(d)  The  recall  is  added,  under  which  elective  offi- 
cials are  subject  to  recall  on  the  filing  of  a  petition 
signed  by  15,000  electors  in  the  case  of  officials 


102 


THE  MODERN  CITY 


elected  at  large  and  of  600  electors  in  the  case  of 
officials  elected  by  wards. 

(e)  Through  the  initiative  the  people  reserve  the 
right  to  propose  ordinances  by  filing  a  petition, 
signed  by  5,000  electors,  asking  that  a  certain  ordi- 
nance be  passed.  If  the  proposed  measure  is  not 
passed  by  the  council  as  presented  to  it,  5,000  addi- 
tional electors,  or  approximately  10  per  cent,  of  the 
voters  in  all,  can  compel  its  submission  to  a  vote  of 
the  people.  If  a  majority  of  those  voting  on  the 
measure  vote  in  favor  of  it,  it  becomes  a  city  ordi- 
nance. On  petition  of  10  per  cent,  of  the  voters  any 
ordinance  passed  by  the  council  must  be  submitted 
to  the  people  for  tlu-ir  approval. 

The  following  is  a  diagram  of  the  Cleveland  charter : 


THE  PEOPLE 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  103 

The  Greater  New  York  Charter. 

The  charter  of  New  York,  adopted  in  1901,  is  a 
compromise  between  the  commission  plan  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  federal  plan  on  the  other.  The  board 
of  aldermen  consists  of  seventy-three  members, 
elected  by  districts  for  a  two-year  term.  The  presi- 
dents of  each  of  the  five  boroughs  are  members  of  the 
board  ex  officio.  Most  of  the  powers  of  the  alder- 
men have  been  taken  from  that  body  and  lodged 
with  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment,  which 
is  both  an  executive  and  legislative  commission. 
The  most  substantial  legislative  powers  remaining 
with  the  aldermen  are  those  relating  to  police,  fire, 
dock,  park,  and  building  departments.  The  budget 
is  prepared  by  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportion- 
ment; but  the  board  of  aldermen  can  reduce  or 
eliminate  any  items  in  the  budget  but  cannot  in- 
crease them.  The  aldermen  enjoy  many  other  pow- 
ers, but  they  are  for  the  most  part  of  a  routine 
nature.  The  president  of  the  board  of  aldermen  is 
the  vice-mayor. 

The  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment  con- 
sists of  the  mayor,  the  president  of  the  board  of 
aldermen,  the  comptroller,  and  the  presidents  of  the 
boroughs  of  Manhattan,  Brooklyn,  Bronx,  Rich- 
mond, and  Queens.  In  it  are  centred  most  of  the 
legislative  powers  of  the  greater  city.  An  attempt  is 
made  to  adjust  the  voting  strength  of  officials  in  this 
body  to  the  population  which  they  represent.  The 
mayor,  vice-mayor,  and  comptroller  have  three  votes 
each;  the  presidents  of  the  boroughs  of  Manhattan 


104  THE  MODERN"  CITY 

and  Brooklyn  have  two  votes  each;  and  the  presi- 
dents of  the  other  boroughs  have  one  vote  each.  The 
total  number  of  votes  represented  in  the  board  of 
estimate  and  apportionment  is  sixteen.  Each  of 
the  borough  presidents  is  an  administrative  chief 
charged  with  the  management  of  certain  activities 
of  the  borough  in  which  he  is  elected.  The  mayor, 
vice-mayor,  and  comptroller  are  elected  from  the 
city  at  large,  while  the  borough  presidents  are 
elected  in  their  respective  boroughs. 

The  mayor  has  large  power.  He  appoints  and 
can  remove  at  will  the  directors  of  all  depart- 
ments, such  as  police,  fire,  charities,  street-cleaning, 
docks  and  ferries,  as  well  as  a  number  of  oilier 
officials.  He  also  appoints  the  board  of  education, 
which  consists  of  forty-six  members,  distributed 
among  the  various  boroughs. 

Under  this  charter  the  administration  of  New 
York  has  been  greatly  improved.  The  circumlocu- 
tion and  indirection  of  the  old  methods  have  passed 
away,  and  through  the  concentration  of  responsibil- 
ity in  the  mayor  and  the  board  of  estimate  and  ap- 
portionment a  higher  degree  of  efficiency  has  been 
attained  than  in  any  previous  period  in  the  history 
of  the  city. 

The  Commission  Plan. 

The  commission  plan,  which  has  been  adopted  by 

nearly  three  hundred  cities  and  towns,  with  an  ag- 

j;ate  population  of  nearly  8,000,000  people,  is  a 

wide  departure  from  traditional  forms  of  municipal 

government.    It  denies  the  necessity  of   distinct 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  105 

legislative  and  executive  departments;  it  abandons 
checks  and  balances  of  all  kinds  and  creates  a  small 
executive  committee  to  run  the  city.  The  plan 
bears  no  resemblance  to  the  German  plan,  to  the 
English  council,  or  to  any  American  system  that 
preceded  it.  The  only  analogy  is  the  commission 
of  three  men  appointed  by  the  President  to  admin- 
ister the  District  of  Columbia. 

Following  the  flood  in  Galveston,  the  city  found  it 
necessary  to  repair  and  rebuild  the  destroyed  dis- 
tricts with  the  least  possible  delay.  To  meet  the 
emergency,  five  commissioners  were  elected  at  large. 
The  commission  performed  its  work  so  effectively 
that  it  attracted  immediate  attention,  and  nearly 
every  city  in  Texas  of  any  size  adopted  the  new  form. 
In  1906,  a  group  of  citizens  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
draughted  a  permissive  law  for  that  State  which,  after 
a  bitter  contest,  was  adopted  by  the  people  at  a 
referendum  election.  Since  that  time  the  commis- 
sion idea  has  spread  all  over  the  country.  Thus  far  it 
has  been  limited  to  cities  under  200,000  inhabitants 
and  for  the  most  part  to  cities  of  from  5,000  to 
100,000. 

The  original  Galveston  plan  was  opposed  by  many 
because  it  centred  too  great  power  in  a  small  group 
elected  at  large  and  not  responsible  to  local  ward 
constituents.  The  Des  Moines  plan  met  this  objec- 
tion by  the  addition  of  three  new  provisions,  to  wit : 
(1)  the  recall,  (2)  the  initiative,  and  (3)  the  refer- 
endum. 


106  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  Short  Ballot. 

The  commission  usually  numbers  five  members, 
that  being  the  number  in  most  of  the  Texas,  Iowa, 
and  Dakota  cities.  Three  is  the  next  most  popular 
number.  In  Kansas  this  is  the  number  for  cities 
of  less  than  15,000  and  in  Iowa  for  cities  between 
7,000  and  25,000  population.  The  original  Wiscon- 
sin law  made  the  number  of  commissioners  three  for 
all  cities  which  accepted  the  plan.  Fort  Worth, 
Texas,  has  six  commissioners,  and  several  cities  four, 
while  individual  commissions  of  seven  and  nine 
members  have  been  provided  for. 

At  one  stroke  the  long  ballot  disappeared,  for  only 
such  officials  are  elected  as  control  the  city's  policy. 
The  multitude  of  relatively  unimportant  officials 
who  slip  through  under  the  straight  party  ballot 
and  confuse  the  voter  become  appointees  of  the 
commission  and  are  subject  to  removal  by  it. 

Wards  are  abolished  as  election  units,  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  commission  being  elected  from  the  city  at 
large.  Thus  the  talent  of  the  city,  wherever  it  may 
be  found,  can  be  called  upon  just  as  in  England, 
where  members  of  the  town  council  and  of  Parlia- 
ment need  not  reside  in  the  wards  or  the  districts 
which  they  represent.  The  reduction  in  the  number 
of  officials  adds  dignity  to  the  position  and  brings 
out  a  higher  type  of  mm.  The  boss,  the  ward  ma- 
chine, and  the  saloon,  which  are  able  to  control 
individual  wards,  are  weakened  in  their  power  by 
the  direct  appeal  to  the  whole  community.  When 
elected,  too,  the  commissioner  has  no  local  obliga- 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  107 

tions  to  pay,  no  protection  to  offer  to  local  interests 
which  have  supported  him.  Log-rolling  and  trading 
in  legislation  is  reduced,  as  is  the  struggle  to  secure 
local  appropriations  or  improvements,  which  is  char- 
acteristic of  councilmanic  bodies.  The  commission 
represents  the  whole  city  and  is  able  to  adjust  ap- 
propriations and  expenditures  with  the  interests  of 
the  city  before  it. 

The  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  commission  also 
makes  it  possible  to  pay  adequate  salaries  to  men 
who  will  devote  their  whole  time  to  city  work.  Most 
of  the  laws  contain  no  provision  as  to  the  amount 
of  time  which  shall  be  given  to  city  work,  although  a 
number  require  whole-time  service,  while  others  pro- 
vide for  part  time. 

Term  of  Office. 

The  terms  of  office  differ  in  different  States.  In 
Texas  and  Iowa  the  term  is  two  years.  In  some 
cities  in  North  Dakota,  South  Carolina,  and  West 
Virginia  it  is  four  years,  while  in  South  Dakota  it  is 
five  years.  In  Berkeley,  Cal.,  the  mayor  and  auditor 
are  elected  for  two  years,  while  every  second  year 
two  councilmen  and  two  school  directors  are  elected 
for  a  four-year  term. 

Most  of  the  laws  provide  for  the  election  of  all 
commissioners  at  the  same  time,  although  there  are 
many  variations  to  this  rule.  Those  who  advocate 
simultaneous  election  insist  that  it  is  difficult  for 
the  community  to  organize  for  reform  when  terms 
expire  at  different  times,  while  advocates  of  the 
other  system  say  that  this  evil  is  safeguarded  by  the 


108  THE  MODERN  CITY 

power  of  the  people  to  recall  an  official  at  any  time, 
and  that  continuity  of  policy  is  of  sufficient  value  to 
justify  some  sacrifices  for  it. 
The  Powers  of  the  Commission. 

The  commission  plan  abandons  all  distinctions  be- 
tween legislative  and  executive  powers.  The  Iowa 
law  provides  that  the  commission  shall  possess  "All 
executive,  legislative  and  judicial  powers"  now  had, 
possessed,  and  exercised  \>y  the  mayor,  city  council, 
solicitor,  assessor,  treasurer,  auditor,  and  ot: 
ecutive  and  administrative  officers,  by  the  board  of 
public  works,  park  commissioners,  the  board  of  po- 
lice and  fire  commissioners.  Similar  provisions  are 
found  in  the  Kansas  and  other  laws.  The  commis- 
sion makes  the  laws  and  then  enforces  them.  It 
levies  taxes,  provides  for  schools,  hospitals,  libraries, 
and  markets;  it  enacts  building  regulations,  grants 
franchises,  and  acquires  such  utilities  as  it  may  de- 
cide to  purchase.  Unity  as  well  as  harmony  in  ad- 
ministration is  thus  secured.  Each  member  of  the 
board  is  responsible  for  a  department,  subject  to 
supervision  by  the  other  members.  This  secures 
wisdom  in  counsel  and  efficiency  in  action. 

The  commission  appoints  and  removes  at  will 
officials  usually  elected,  such  as  treasurer,  attorn 
and  tax  officials,  as  well  as  all  subordinate  offi< 
and  employees.   It  can  create  new  offices,  fix  salaries, 
and  prescribe  duties.    Administration  is  very  fl 
il'le,  as  it  should  be.    It  is  not  dissimilar  from  the 
private  corporation. 

In  most  of  the  Texas  cities  the  mayor  nominates 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  109 

subordinates,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  rest  of 
the  board.  In  other  cities  each  commissioner  ap- 
points his  own  employees,  subject  to  the  board's 
approval. 

All  of  the  finances  of  the  city  fall  under  the  control 
of  the  commission.  It  makes  up  the  annual  budget, 
although  in  some  cities  the  mayor  has  power  to  veto 
separate  items.  The  commission  borrows  money, 
issues  bonds,  and  determines  how  the  indebtedness 
of  the  city  shall  be  paid. 

The  Position  of  the  Mayor. 

The  mayor  is  a  member  of  the  commission  and 
presides  at  its  sessions  with  a  right  to  vote  on  all 
questions.  He  is  the  chief  executive  of  the  city  and 
has  general  supervision  over  its  administration,  in 
addition  to  the  control  of  his  own  department.  In 
many  cities  he  has  been  deprived  of  the  veto  power 
and  is  merely  a  member  of  a  governing  council.  The 
other  commissioners  are  assigned  to  departments, 
either  by  the  electors  at  the  polls  or  by  the  commis- 
sion itself.1 

Parallel  to  Private  Corporations. 

The  commission  plan  has  the  simplicity  of  private 
business.  Just  as  the  corporation  elects  a  board  of 
directors,  which  in  turn  selects  an  executive  commit- 
tee, so  the  city  elects  a  committee  of  citizens  to  man- 
age its  affairs.  The  commission  meets  in  the  open 
and  citizens  appear  before  it  and  present  their  re- 

1  For  a  discussion  of  the  merits  and  demerits  of  election  for  specific 
office  and  election  at  random,  see  article  by  Lewis  J.  Johnson,  Na- 
tional  Municipal  Review,  October,  1913. 


110  THE  MODERN  CITY 

quests  in  a  way  that  is  direct  and  effective.  There 
can  be  no  evasion,  no  shifting  of  responsibility.  The 
eye  of  the  voter  is  on  his  representatives  all  the  time. 
This  creates  a  feeling  of  control  on  the  one  hand  and 
of  responsibility  on  the  other.  The  commission 
plan  may  not  and  probably  will  not  be  the  final 
form  which  city  administration  will  adopt,  but  it  is 
performing  a  great  service  by  accustoming  the  people 
to  a  belief  in  the  city  and  the  possibility  of  honest 
politics.  And  it  was  necessary  to  secure  this  respect 
before  we  could  enter  on  an  enlarged  programme  of 
city  service.  We  had  to  trust  our  officials  before  we 
would  give  them  more  power. 
Democracy. 

In  place  of  the  checks  and  balances  between  the 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  departments,  the 
commission  plan  provides  for  new  checks  in  the 
(a)  recall;  (6)  initiative;  (c)  referendum;  and  (d) 
non-partisan  primaries  and  elections.  Not  all  of 
these  checks  are  found  in  all  of  the  States,  but  they 
generally  prevail.  There  is  no  provision  for  non- 
partisan  primaries  in  most  of  the  Texas  cities,  or  for 
a  merit  system.  Some  cities  do  not  have  the  initia- 
tive, but  almost  all  have  the  referendum. 

Through  the  recall  the  voters  maintain  permanent 
control  over  officials.  The  Des  Moines  charter  pro- 
vides that  the  recall  can  be  brought  into  use  against 
any  elective  official  by  the  filing  of  a  petition  signed 
by  25  per  cent,  of  the  voters.  When  filed,  the  coun- 
cil is  required  to  call  an  election  at  which  the  official 
recalled  may  be  a  candidate.  The  percentage  of 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  111 

petitioners  required  differs  in  different  cities,  but 
provision  for  its  use  is  to  be  found  in  almost  all  the 
charters  outside  of  the  Southern  States.  The  recall 
has  been  but  rarely  used.  It  has  been  tried  in  Seat- 
tle, Los  Angeles,  and  a  number  of  other  towns,  as  a 
protest  against  some  flagrant  conditions.  Its  mere 
existence  is  a  powerful  restraining  influence  upon  the 
official. 

The  Initiative  and  Referendum. 

Neither  the  initiative  or  referendum  has  been 
widely  used  by  the  cities.  In  some  States  all  fran- 
chise grants  must  be  referred  to  the  electors,  while, 
generally  speaking,  any  ordinance  must  be  submitted 
to  the  voters  when  a  petition  signed  by  a  certain 
per  cent,  of  the  electors  is  presented  to  the  council 
demanding  that  this  be  done.  The  initiative  is  a 
means  for  directly  proposing  some  new  measure  for 
the  amendment  of  the  charter  or  for  the  undertaking 
of  some  new  activity  like  the  purchase  of  a  water 
plant.  The  initiative  has  been  effectively  used  in 
Denver  and  San  Francisco  to  change  the  charter, 
the  latter  city  having  decided  to  own  and  operate  a 
street-railway  through  its  use,  while  Los  Angeles 
enlarged  the  powers  of  the  city  so  as  to  permit  it  to 
engage  in  almost  every  kind  of  municipal  activity, 
including  the  ownership  of  street-railways,  electric 
light  and  power  plants,  docks,  harbors,  telephone, 
and  other  services. 

Electoral  Provisions. 

Radical  departures  have  also  been  made  in  the 
method  of  nominating  and  electing  officials.  The 


112  Till-    MODERN  CITY 

caucus  and  convention  is  abolished  in  all  of  them, 
while  the  direct  primary  is  simplified  as  much  as 
possible.  Party  emblems  and  columns  have  been 
generally  abolished,  the  names  of  candidates  being 
placed  on  the  ballot  with  no  reference  to  party 
affiliations.  Candidates  are  nominated  by  petition, 
the  primary  and  election  being  in  effect  two  separate 
elections  without  reference  to  partisan  considera- 
tions. 

The  Grand  Junction,  Col.,  plan  provides  for  the 
preferential  ballot,  which  has  been  later  copied  and 
modified  in  some  details.  Opposite  the  names  of 
each  candidate  are  three  columns,  in  which  the 
voter  can  register  his  first  choice,  second  choice,  and 
other  choices  for  candidate.  A  vote  against  any 
candidate  places  him  one  vote  behind  all  other  can- 
didates voted  for.  In  order  to  vote  for  a  candidate, 
a  cross  is  made  in  the  appropriate  column  opposite 
the  name.  The  elector  votes  for  his  first  choice  in 
the  first  column,  for  his  second  choice  in  the  second 
column,  and  for  any  other  choice  in  the  third  column. 

Election  judges  report  to  the  city  clerk  the  total 
number  of  votes  cast,  the  number  of  first,  second,  and 
third  choice  votes  which  each  person  receives,  no 
vote  being  counted  for  any  candidate  by  the  same 
voter  more  than  once.  If  any  candidate  receives 
more  than  half  of  all  the  votes  cast  for  first  choice, 
then  he  is  declared  elected  without  further  formality. 
1 1  no  candidate  receives  such  a  majority,  the  candi- 
date receiving  the  lowest  number  of  first-choice 
votes  is  dropped  and  the  first  and  second  choices  of 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  113 

each  candidate  are  added  together,  and  if  any*  one 
of  them  receives  a  majority,  then  he  is  elected.  If 
no  one  has  a  majority,  then  the  next  lowest  candi- 
date is  dropped,  and  thus  the  process  is  continued 
until  some  candidate  receives  a  majority. 

Under  this  method  majority  rather  than  plural- 
ity elections  are  insured.  It  enables  the  elector  to 
support  minority  candidates  without  throwing  away 
his  vote  and  makes  machine  control  practically  im- 
possible and  insures  the  ultimate  majority  will  of 
the  community. 

Results  of  the  Commission  Form  of  Government. 

"There  seems  to  be  scarcely  a  dissenting  voice  to 
the  conclusion  that  cities  adopting  the  commission 
plan  find  it  a  vast  improvement  over  the  government 
which  it  superseded,"  is  the  testimony  of  Henry 
Bru£re,  city  chamberlain  of  New  York  and  formerly 
director  of  the  bureau  of  municipal  research  of  that 
city,  after  an  exhaustive  study  of  ten  commission 
cities.  Continuing,  Mr.  Bruere  says: 

"First-hand  observation  of  commission-governed 
cities  confirms  the  claim  that  it  at  least  leads  to  of- 
ficial effort  to  give  better  service  and  on  the  whole 
to  more  exacting  demands  on  government  by  the 
public.  Unquestionably  too,  whether  because  of  the 
impetus  of  change  or  because  in  the  new  scheme 
there  is  a  greater  capacity  for  getting  things  done, 
commission  cities  have  experienced  a  period  of  official 
activity  immediately  following  the  adoption  of  the 
new  plan. 

"The  commission  plan  starts  with  the  assumption 
that  the  natural  impulse  of  officials  will  be  to  sat- 


114  THE  MODERN  CITY 

isfy  the  requirements  of  their  employers.  It  gives 
them  full  rein  during  good  behaviour  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  city's  business  affairs.  It  provides 
practically  an  honor  system  of  organization  by  plac- 
ing office  holders  on  their  mettle,  with  sole  re- 
sponsibility to  their  constituents.  It  has  up  to 
date  exhibited  none  of  the  evils  which  'checks  and 
balances'  were  assumed  to  prevent." l 

The  City  Manager  Plan. 

The  city  manager  form  is  a  modification  of  the 
commission  idea.  It  was  adopted  in  August,  1913, 
by  Dayton,  Ohio,  the  first  municipality  of  any  size 
to  try  this  plan.1  Under  it  power  is  vested  in  a  non- 
partisan  commission  of  five,  elected  at  large,  and 
subject  to  recall  on  petition  of  25  per  cent,  of  th<> 
voters.  The  commission  has  only  legislative  pow- 
ers. It  chooses  the  city  manager  (subject  also  to 
recall),  who  is  the  administrative  head  of  the  govt 
ment.  He  appoints  the  departmental  heads  and 
th'-ir  deputies  and  fixes  their  salaries  and  is  person- 
ally responsible  for  the  entire  administration  of 
city.  His  relation  to  the  commission  is  very  much 
like  that  of  the  superintendent  of  schools  to  the 

1  The  New  Oily  GOWK****,  by  Henry  Bnitro,  p.  72. 

In  an  article  in  the  Municipal  /Me*  for  July,  1012,  p.  372,  by 
Mr.  Ernest  8.  Bradford,  is  a  study  of  the  financial  achievement*  of 
commissKMi  cities  in  the  wiping  out  of  floating  indebtedness,  lifing 
within  their  incomes,  and  the  reduction  in  operating  expenses. 
Citi«,  too,  have  adopted  constnictive  policies.  They  have  promoted 
ripal  undertaking  engaged  in  municipal  ownership,  developed 
city  planning  and  other  comprehensive  activities. 

•See  National  Municipal  fimns,  October,  1913.  L.  D.  Upson. 
Prior  to  this  adoption,  Sumter,  8.  C.,  a  city  of  8,000  people,  had 
adopted  the  manager  plan,  while  in  1910,  Lockport,  N.  Y.,  had 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  115 

school  board  or  the  manager  of  a  business  corpora- 
tion to  the  directors. 

The  powers  and  duties  of  the  manager  under  the 
Dayton  charter  comprise  the  following: 

(1)  Supervision  of  departmental  administration. 

(2)  The  execution  of  laws  and  ordinances. 

(3)  Recommendation  of  legislative  measures. 

(4)  Appointment  of  officers  and  employees,  sub- 
ject to  the  provisions  of  the  civil  service  sections. 

(5)  Preparation  of  reports. 

(6)  Preparation  of  the  budget. 

The  mayor  of  the  city  is  distinct  from  the  man- 
ager. He  is  one  of  the  members  of  the  commission, 
and  becomes  mayor  by  virtue  of  having  received 
the  largest  number  of  votes  at  an  election  in  which 
three  commissioners  are  chosen.  His  function  is 
merely  to  perform  duties  incumbent  upon  him  by 
State  law  and  to  serve  as  the  ceremonial  head  of 
the  city. 

The  departmental  organization  of  the  city  is  pro- 
vided by  charter,  with  a  reservation,  however,  which 
permits  the  commission  to  create  additional  depart- 
ments or  discontinue  or  distribute  functions.  The 
appointment  of  a  city-plan  board  is  recommended, 
and  of  such  other  citizen  advisory  boards  as  the  man- 
ager may  deem  expedient.  Emphasis  is  laid  in  the 
charter  upon  administrative  methods  as  a  means 
of  securing  efficient  government.  Provision  is  also 
made  for  accounting  and  budgetary  procedure,  for 
the  granting  of  franchises,  for  public  improvements 
and  a  purchasing  department.  The  administration 


116  THE  MODERN  CITY 

of  the  city  is  treated  as  a  business,   for  which 
business  methods  and  expert  supervision  are  i. 
essary.1 

o  u  runi£u*y  • 

The  municipal  progress  of  the  past  twenty  years 
has  been  largely  identified  with  charter  changes. 
It  has  been  devoted  to  improving  the  machinery  of 
administration  and  the  freeing  of  the  city  from  tin* 
many  obstacles  which  surrounded  the  voter  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  official  on  the  other.  All  of  these 
changes  have  been  in  the  direction  of  simplicity  and 
responsibility.  And  democracy  has  been  the  pre- 
vailing note. 

The  city  was  the  first  of  our  governmental  agei 
to  definitely  abandon  the  traditions  of  American 
politics  and  reject  the  system  of  checks  and  balances 
and  divided  responsibility  which  has  prevailed  for 
over  a  century.  And  the  newer  and  more  advanced 
city  charters  are  almost  free  from  these  limitations, 
which  first  found  expression  in  the  federal  Con- 
stitution. 

These  changes  have  involved  simple  methods  of 
nomination  and  election,  the  short  ballot,  and  the 
abandonment  of  party  emblems.  Greater  directneBB 
has  been  secured  in  the  relation  of  the  voter  to  the 
city,  while  similar  changes  have  been  made  in  the 
machinery  of  administration.  The  legislative  body 
has  become  a  single  body  and  has  been  reduced  in 
size,  while  many  of  its  powers  have  been  lodged  with 
the  mayor  or  the  commission.  We  are  now  in  a 
position  to  select  our  officials  with  the  least  possible 

1  Up  to  the  end  of  1913  twelve  cities  had  adopted  the  manager 
plan,  Dayton  and  Springfield,  Ohio,  being  the  largert.  The  other 
cities  were  in  North  Carolina,  Oregon,  Michigan,  Ten*,  Minne- 
sota, and  Arizona. 


RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES  117 

confusion  and  to  hold  them  to  accountability  after 
they  have  been  elected. 

Three  forms  of  city  charters  have  been  evolved  in 
this  process:  one  in  which  the  mayor  is  the  respon- 
sible official,  with  a  group  of  appointed  directors  to 
assist  him;  another  in  which  power  is  lodged  in  a 
small  elective  commission;  and  a  third  in  which  the 
policy-making  authority  rests  with  an  elected  council 
while  the  administrative  power  is  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  manager  selected  by  duly  elected  representa- 
tives of  the  community. 

Great  improvement  has  everywhere  followed  these 
changes.  A  better  class  of  men  has  been  elected  to 
office;  there  have  been  greater  economy  and  efficiency 
in  administration  and  a  rapidly  developing  pro- 
gramme of  municipal  service  which  was  difficult — 
in  many  cases  impossible  under  the  systems  which 
formerly  prevailed.  As  a  consequence  the  boss  is 
passing  away,  as  is  the  machine  system  which  sup- 
ported the  boss.  Corruption  and  bribery  are  also 
passing,  while  an  alert  public  opinion  now  finds  it 
possible  to  express  itself  through  the  simplified 
methods  of  nomination  and  election.  The  initiative, 
referendum,  and  recall  have  carried  democracy  still 
further  and  made  the  city  the  most  democratic  in- 
strument in  America  and  in  many  ways  the  most 
democratic  agency  in  the  world.  This  was  the  first 
great  step  toward  the  redemption  of  the  city.  It  was 
of  necessity  the  first  step  in  reform. 


CHAPTER  X 
MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION  IN  GERMANY 

THE  European  city1  has  never  suffered  from  the 
evils  described  in  the  previous  chapters.  It  has 
never  been  sacrificed  to  partisan  advantage  or  to 
ripper  legislation.  The  municipal  code  is  uniform 
as  to  all  cities  within  the  state,  and  changes  are 
made  with  great  caution  and  consideration.  In  th<> 
more  important  countries  the  code  has  remained 
essentially  unchanged  for  a  century.  The  present 
municipal  laws  of  Prussia  are  based  on  the  reforms 
of  Baron  von  Stein  in  1806,  the  code  of  France  on 
the  Napoleonic  reforms  of  1800,  and  the  laws  of 
Great  Britain  on  the  Municipal  Corporations  Art 
in  1835.  Subsequent  laws  have  enlarged  munic- 
ipal powers  and  adjusted  them  to  new  industrial 
conditions,  but  the  form  of  government  in  all  these 
countries  has  remained  substantially  the  same  from 
the  birth  of  the  modern  city  at  the  end  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century. 
European  Municipal  Forms. 

The  large  council  prevails  everywhere.  The 
mayor  is  elected  by  the  council  rather  than  by  the 
people  and  is  either  a  titular  official,  who  presides 

1  For  a  more  exhaustive  study  of  the  government  of  European 
cities  see  Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe  and  Munici- 
pal Government  in  Great  Britain,  by  Dr.  Albert  Shaw;  The  Govern- 
ment of  European  Cities,  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Munro;  and  European  Citie* 
at  Work  and  The  British  City,  by  the  author. 

118 


GERMAN  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     119 

over  the  council,  as  in  Great  Britain,  or  a  highly 
trained  expert,  as  in  Germany.  Members  of  the 
council  are  chosen  by  wards  or  districts,  the  election 
at  large  being  unknown.  Nowhere  do  we  find  any- 
thing approaching  the  commission  form  of  govern- 
ment or  the  federal  plan,  with  a  powerful  mayor  to 
whom  are  intrusted  the  appointment  of  subordinates 
and  the  direction  of  city  policies.  The  nearest  ap- 
proach to  this  is  in  Germany.  The  council  gener- 
ally commands  the  services  of  capable  and  honor- 
able men  from  the  business  or  professional  classes, 
who  gladly  respond  to  the  opportunity  of  public  serv- 
ice. Nowhere  do  they  receive  any  salary.  And  in 
all  countries  the  council  is  an  active  agency  in  ad- 
ministration. As  the  councillor  is  the  only  person 
elected  by  the  people,  the  short  ballot  prevails,  while 
city  elections  as  well  as  their  policies  and  pro- 
grammes are  divorced  from  national  politics. 

All  over  Europe,  too,  the  salaried  officials  enjoy 
permanent  tenure  and  are  selected  because  of  their 
training  and  fitness.  The  merit  system  everywhere 
prevails  in  the  selection  of  employees.  In  practice 
there  is  no  recognition  of  the  American  idea  of  checks 
and  balances  and  division  of  power  and  responsi- 
bility. There  is  rarely  any  suggestion  of  dishonesty 
or  graft,  as  we  understand  the  term,  while  in  most  of 
the  countries  the  administration  is  fairly  comparable 
to  that  of  the  most  efficient  private  corporations. 

The  German  City— The  Burgomaster. 

The  burgomaster  is  the  central  feature  in  the  Ger- 
man system,  as  is  the  mayor  in  America.  He  pre- 


120  THE  MODERN    <  ITY 

sides  over  the  magistrat,  or  administrative  depart- 
ment, and  has  a  seat  in  the  council.  He  promotes 
city  policies,  oversees  all  departments,  and  may  sus- 
pend and  punish  officials  who  have  been  remiss  in 
their  duties.  He  has,  however,  no  veto  power.  He 
is  directly  responsible  to  the  state  for  police  ad- 
ministration. He  neither  prepares  the  budget  nor 
introduces  it.  These  functions  are  performed  by 
members  of  the  magistrat.  Some  cities  have  two 
burgomasters,  in  which  case  the  senior  one  is  called 
the  over-burgomaster,  or  first  burgomaster. 

The  salaries  paid  burgomasters  are  relatively  high. 
Berlin  and  Frankfort  pay  their  over-burgomaster 
$9,000  a  year,  while  Leipsic,  Cologne,  and  Magde- 
burg pay  $6,250  a  year.  In  addition,  the  burgo- 
master receives  a  number  of  substantial  perquisites 
which  may  amount  to  from  one  third  to  one  half 
the  salary.  When  he  retires  from  office  he  is  en- 
titled to  a  pension  of  from  one  half  to  three  fourths 
of  his  salary,  depending  upon  the  length  of  his  service. 

The  office  of  burgomaster  is  one  of  the  most  allur- 
ing positions  in  Germany.  The  poet  carries  with  it 
distinct  ion,  social  position,  and  dignity.  The  city 
engages  in  a  multitude  of  undertakings,  has  a  large 
budget,  and  if  the  mayor  is  a  man  of  vision,  as  he 
generally  is,  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  employ  all  his 
knowledge  and  energy  in  the  development  of  the  city. 

Some  Distinguished  Municipal  Officials. 

Municipal  office  in  Germany  is  permanent.  The 
burgomaster  is  elected  for  from  six  to  twelve  years 
in  the  first  instance,  with  the  expectation  that  he 


GERMAN  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     121 

will  be  re-elected  on  the  expiration  of  his  term.  And 
this  is  the  usual  practice.  The  burgomaster  of  Halle 
was  mayor  of  that  city  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
Doctor  Martin  Kirschner,  until  recently  the  chief 
burgomaster  of  Berlin,  was  first  a  judge,  but  in  1873 
he  entered  municipal  lif e  as  a  town-councillor  in 
Breslau.  Later  he  became  the  legal  adviser  of  the 
city  and  in  1893  was  called  from  Breslau  to  become 
one  of  the  burgomasters  of  Berlin.  Six  years  later 
he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  chief  burgomaster, 
which  office  he  held  until  shortly  before  his  death. 
Doctor  Adickes,  until  recently  the  chief  burgomaster 
of  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  probably  the  most 
distinguished  municipal  official  in  Germany,  began 
his  official  career  after  the  Franco-Prussian  War  as 
burgomaster  of  Dortmund,  where  he  remained  for 
four  years.  In  1877  he  was  called  to  Altona  and  in 
1883  became  its  chief  burgomaster.  In  1891  the 
city  of  Frankfort  elected  him  to  be  its  burgomaster, 
which  office  he  held  up  to  1913. 

In  1898  the  city  of  Dusseldorf  called  Doctor  Wil- 
helm  Marx  to  be  its  burgomaster.  He  held  the  of- 
fice for  twelve  years  and  was  succeeded  by  Doctor 
Oehler,  who  was  called  to  Dusseldorf  from  Crefeld. 

The  burgomaster  need  not  live  in  the  city  to  which 
he  is  called,  and  in  practice  men  move  from  one  city 
to  another,  much  as  do  managers  of  private  business, 
professors,  or  ministers  in  this  country.  There  is  no 
politics,  in  our  understanding  of  the  term,  in  the 
choice  of  the  burgomaster  or  higher  officials,  although 
a  socialist  would  not  be  chosen  under  the  system 


122  THE  MODERN  CITY 

which  prevails,  and  if  he  were  the  choice  would 
probably  be  vetoed  by  the  King. 

Men  prepare  themselves  for  municipal  office  as 
they  do  for  law,  medicine,  or  any  other  calling. 
They  take  special  courses  in  the  universities  or  tech- 
nical schools.  On  graduation  they  enter  the  civil 
service  or  compete  for  a  subordinate  municipal  p 
tion.  Administrative  offices  are  also  recruited  from 
the  city  council,  the  law,  or  the  state  civil  service. 
Men  rise  from  one  position  to  another  as  they  dem- 
onstrate their  abilities.  Quite  frequently  they  are 
called  from  one  city  to  another.  The  goal  of  am- 
bition is  to  become  the  burgomaster  of  a  progressive 
city  like  Frankfort,  Diisseldorf,  Munich,  or  Dresden, 
and  this  can  only  be  attained  by  distinguished  suc- 
cess in  some  line  of  municipal  activity. 
The  Magistral,  or  Administrative  Council. 

Associated  with  the  burgomaster  in  the  actual 
administration  of  the  city  are  a  number  of  directors, 
who  form  the  Magistral,  or  Stadtrat.  They,  too,  are 
elected  by  the  council,  under  conditions  similar  to 
those  described  for  the  burgomaster.  Approximately 
one  half  of  the  members  are  salaried;  the  other  half 
are  not.  The  latter  are  men  of  training  and  expe- 
rience, experts  in  general  in  city  administration. 

Each  of  the  paid  members  is  selected  for  a  par- 
ticular line  of  service.  The  Kammerer  occupies  the 
position  of  city  auditor;  the  Syndikus  is  the  head  of 
the  legal  department;  the  Schulrat,  of  education;  and 
the  Baurat,  of  public  works.  Other  specialists  are 
assigned  to  charity  administration,  the  relief  of  the 


GERMAN  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     123 

poor,  and  the  management  of  the  public  utility  cor- 
porations. The  salaries  paid  members  of  the  mag- 
istrat  are  relatively  high.  In  Berlin  they  range 
from  $2,500  to  $3,000  a  year,  and  in  other  large 
cities  from  $1,200  to  $3,000.  Members  of  the 
magistrat  are  chosen  for  long  terms,  sometimes  for 
life;  and  in  addition  to  their  salaries  they  receive 
generous  pensions  on  retirement. 

The  number  of  paid  members  of  the  magistrat  is 
determined  by  the  council.  And  a  large  number  are 
provided  for.  Berlin,  with  a  population  of  2,099,000, 
has  seventeen  paid  and  as  many  more  unpaid  mem- 
bers  of  the  magistrat.  Magdeburg,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  240,663,  has  twelve  paid  and  fifteen  unpaid 
officials;  Breslau,  with  a  population  of  510,939,  has 
fourteen  paid  and  fifteen  unpaid  ones.  The  German 
city  has  from  two  to  three  times  as  many  salaried 
directors  of  the  first  rank  in  its  administrative  de- 
partments as  has  the  American  city.  In  addition, 
it  has  as  many  more  unsalaried  ones.  The  un- 
salaried  members  are  frequently  chosen  from  the 
council,  much  as  are  the  aldermen  in  Great  Britain. 
They  are  generally  men  of  comparative  leisure  or 
wealth,  of  high  esteem  in  the  community,  and  their 
positions  are  practically  permanent.  The  burgo- 
master and  members  of  the  magistrat  sit  with  the 
council  but  do  not  vote  on  measures. 

Powers  of  the  Magistrat. 

The  burgomaster  and  magistrat  occupy  a  place  in 
the  German  city  somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  the 
mayor  and  department  heads  under  the  federal  plan 


124  THE  MODERN  CITY 

in  America.  They  dominate  the  administration  and 
are  its  policy-making  body.  They  initiate  much  of 
the  legislation,  frequently  at  the  request  of  the  coun- 
cil. All  ordinances  must  have  the  approval  of  the 
magistrat,  much  as  legislation  in  this  country  must 
pass  both  houses  of  Congress.  Rarely  is  there  seri- 
ous conflict  between  the  two  bodies,  but  when  it 
does  arise  and  cannot  be  adjusted  it  is  referred  to 
the  central  authorities,  whose  decision  is  final. 

The  magistrat  is  the  exclusive  executive  branch  of 
the  city.  It  has  control  of  all  of  the  business  enter- 
prises in  which  the  city  is  engaged;  it  builds  and 
cleans  the  streets  and  controls  the  schools,  parks, 
and  housing.  It  also  performs  a  number  of  func- 
tions for  the  state.  And  in  the  performance  of  its 
activities  the  members  enjoy  much  freedom.  No 
money  can  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury  without  tl 
approval,  although  the  power  to  levy  taxes  or  make 
appropriations  is  lodged  with  the  council.  Members 
of  the  magistrat  rather  than  the  mayor  appoint  sub- 
ordinate officials,  which  appointments  must  be  <• 
firmed  by  the  council.  The  magistrat  meets  as  a 
separate  body  in  much  of  its  work,  its  meetings  being 
held  in  secret. 

Efficiency  of  the  German  City. 

The  German  city  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  cor- 
porations in  the  world.    There  is  no  waste,  no  ex- 
travagance, rarely  any  suggestion  of  graft  or  < 
ruption.1    Both  the  magistrat  and  the  council  con- 

1  The  nearest  approach  to  irregularity  is  the  ascendant  influence  of 
property-owners  in  the  council,  who  frequently  prevent  city-widen- 


GERMAN  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     125 

tain  men  trained  for  almost  any  problem  which  may 
arise,  whose  hopes,  ambitions,  and  social  aspirations 
are  satisfied  with  the  opportunities  which  city  admin- 
istration offers.  There  is  no  spoils  system  in  the 
selection  of  employees  nor  is  there  any  rotation  in 
office.  Tenure  is  during  good  behavior.  This  is 
part  of  the  traditions  of  the  country,  for  in  Germany 
men  choose  their  callings  early  in  life  and  do  not 
change  them  as  they  do  in  this  country.  In  addi- 
tion, the  universities  and  technical  schools  train  men 
for  public  office,  while  every  tradition  leads  men  to 
aspire  to  state  service  as  the  highest  calling  to  which 
they  can  attain.  All  classes,  too,  have  a  sense  of  the 
dignity  of  the  city.  There  is  a  recognition  of  its 
permanence  and  the  necessity  for  building  with  a 
big  vision  of  the  future.  It  is  this  rather  than  the 
character  of  officials  that  most  distinguishes  the 
cities  of  the  Old  World  from  our  own. 

The  City  Council,  or  Stadtverordnete. 

Members  of  the  town  council  are  elected  by  wards, 
as  in  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  They 
are  chosen  for  six  years,  and  one  third  of  the  mem- 
bers retire  every  two  years.  None  of  the  members 
are  elected  at  large.  The  council  is  a  large  body, 
much  larger  than  in  the  United  States.  In  Berlin 
it  numbers  144  members;  in  Mannheim  and  Carls- 
ruhe,  96;  in  Dresden,  78;  in  Leipsic,  72;  and  in 
Munich,  62.  The  size  of  the  council  is  fixed  by  law 

ing  plans,  the  extension  of  transit,  and  other  needed  improvements, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  rents  and  values  within  the  city.  This 
is  a  not  uncommon  complaint. 


126  THE  MODERN  CITY 

and  depends  upon  the  population  of  the  town.  In 
Prussia  there  is  a  minimum  of  twelve  councilmen  in 
the  smaller  communities. 

The  council  attracts  men  of  a  high  order  of  ability 
from  the  business  and  professional  classes,  who  deem 
it  an  honor  to  be  elected  to  that  body.  Univer- 
sity professors  and  teachers  are  frequently  chosen. 
Members  of  the  council  receive  no  salaries,  and  there 
is  no  chance  for  pecuniary  emolument  of  any  kind. 
Service,  too,  is  obligatory,  for  a  man  can  be  fined  if 
he  refuses  to  accept  an  election. 

The  council  usually  meets  once  a  week  except  dur- 
ing the  summer  months.  There  is  much  committee 
work,  and  members  take  a  spirited  interest  in  the  dis- 
cussions and  promotion  of  municipal  policies.  Much 
of  the  work  of  the  council  is  prepared  for  it  by  the 
magistrat,  but,  despite  this  fact,  the  work  of  the 
councillor  is  very  exacting. 

The  Suffrage. 

Qualifications  for  the  suffrage  differ  in  the  various 
German  states.  Proportional  representation  pre- 
vails in  Bavaria,  members  of  the  council  being 
chosen  according  to  the  respective  voting  strength 
of  the  various  parties.  In  Prussia,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  suffrage  is  adjusted  to  a  property  or  tax- 
paying  basis.  Members  of  the  council  are  chosen 
under  the  three-class  system  of  voting,  which  per- 
mits the  large  taxpayers  to  elect  a  majority  and  usu- 
ally two  thirds  of  the  council.  The  voting  power 
of  the  individual  is  fixed  by  the  amount  of  his  income 
tax,  which  is  determined  in  the  following  manner: 


GERMAN  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     127 

Income  taxpayers  are  divided  into  three  classes,  each 
one  of  which  elects  one  third  of  the  council.  The 
classification  is  arranged  as  follows:  Beginning  with 
the  highest  single  taxpayer,  men  are  checked  off  in 
order  until  one  third  of  the  total  taxes  is  ascertained. 
The  taxpayers  in  this  group  constitute  the  first  class 
and  elect  one  third  of  the  council.  Then  those  whose 
aggregate  taxes  comprise  another  third  of  the  total 
are  checked  off  and  constitute  the  second  class  and 
elect  a  second  third  of  the  council.  The  great  mass 
of  electors,  whose  aggregate  income  taxes  comprise 
the  final  third  of  the  total,  make  up  the  third  class 
and  elect  the  remaining  third  of  the  council.  This 
is  the  substance  of  the  Prussian  law.  It  is  designed 
to  exclude  the  socialists  and  working  classes  from 
control  of  the  cities. 
Class  Rule. 

As  a  result  of  this  arrangement  an  insignificant 
number  of  persons  elect  one  third  of  the  council, 
while  a  very  small  minority  elects  two  thirds  of  it. 
The  first  class  of  electors  rarely  comprises  more  than 
3  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  voters,  while  the 
first  and  second  classes  combined  include  from  10  to 
20  per  cent,  of  the  total.  In  Essen,  where  the  Fred- 
erick Krupp  steel  works  are  located,  there  were  in 
1900  only  three  electors  in  the  first  class,  with  401 
in  the  second.  These  three  men  elected  one  third 
of  the  council,  while  404  out  of  a  vote  of  nearly 
20,000  elected  two  thirds  of  its  membership.  In 
Berlin  in  1903  there  were  1,857  electors  in  the  first 
class  and  29,711  in  the  second.  Altogether  31,568 


128  THE  MODERN  CITY 

electors  out  of  a  total  of  349,105  chose  two  thirds 
of  the  council.  An  examination  of  the  election  re- 
turns in  Berlin  shows  that  for  every  elector  of  the 
first  class  there  are  21  of  the  second  and  214  of  the 
third.  The  city  council  contained  144  members  and 
one  third  of  these,  or  48,  was  apportioned  to  each 
class.  As  a  result,  34  electors,  on  an  average,  se- 
lected a  member  of  the  council  in  the  first  class,  while 
721  electors  selected  a  member  in  the  third  class.1 
Other  Limitations  on  the  Suffrage. 

There  are  many  other  limitations  on  the  suffrage 
in  Prussia  in  the  interest  of  the  property-owning 
class.  The  right  to  vote  is  confined  to  male  cit  i; 
of  twenty-four  years  of  age  who  have  paid  municipal 
taxes,  who  own  a  dwelling-house,  or  have  a  trad- 
profession  which  yields  an  income.  Some  private 
corporations  are  allowed  to  vote.  The  ballot  is  open 
rather  than  secret,  which  makes  it  even  more  diffi- 
cult for  the  working  classes  to  express  their  will. 
The  propertied  classes  derive  an  additional  advan- 
tage from  the  fact  that  one  half  of  the  members  of 
the  council  must  be  owners  of  real  estate. 

In  Munich,  the  capital  of  Bavaria,  where  propor- 
tional representation  prevails,  one  must  livo  in  the 
city  for  two  years,  have  an  income  of  $300,  and  have 
paid  $37.50  for  admission  to  the  rights  of  suffrage. 
Hamburg,  Frankfort,  and  some  other  cities  have 
local  qualifications  on  the  right  to  vote. 

There  are  no  primaries,  caucuses,  or  conventions 
in  the  making  of  nominations.  Nor  are  there  any 

1  Government  of  European  Cttict,  by  Doctor  W.  B.  Munro,  p.  131. 


GERMAN  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     129 

printed  ballots.  Any  qualified  person  can  be  voted 
for,  although  in  practice  candidates  are  selected  be- 
forehand by  the  parties  and  are  well  known  as  such. 
Prior  to  the  election  partisan  meetings  are  held,  but 
in  so  far  as  the  ballot  is  concerned  the  voter  is  left 
unaided  in  the  making  of  his  choice.  Each  candi- 
date must  receive  a  clear  majority  of  the  votes  cast, 
and  if  this  is  not  obtained  on  the  first  balloting  a 
second  one  is  held,  to  which  only  the  two  candidates 
who  receive  the  largest  number  of  votes  are  eligible. 

Lack  of  Democracy  in  German  Cities. 

It  is  against  these  property  limitations  on  the  suf- 
frage that  the  socialists  and  radicals  are  protesting. 
It  is  this  that  chains  Prussia,  as  well  as  her  cities,  to 
reaction.  For,  while  nearly  every  large  city  in  the 
empire  sends  socialist  members  to  the  Imperial 
Reichstag,  for  which  practically  universal  suffrage 
prevails,  none  of  the  cities  are  as  yet  controlled  by 
socialists,  and  in  Prussia  such  control  is  impossible. 
The  city  is  really  governed  by  business  men,  and  in 
so  far  as  special  interests  influence  administration  it 
is  the  land-owning  classes.  They  protect  their  in- 
terests in  a  variety  of  ways  by  restricting  the  exten- 
sion of  transportation  facilities,  by  preventing  town 
widening,  and  other  proposals  which  tend  to  de- 
preciate real-estate  values.  This  is  the  most  serious 
criticism  that  can  be  made  on  the  honesty  and  effi- 
ciency of  the  German  city. 

State  Supervision. 

We  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter  that  the  Ger- 
man city  enjoys  large  freedom  from  the  state  in  the 


130  THE  MODERN  CITY 

administration  of  its  local  affairs.  There  are,  how- 
ever, certain  limitations  on  its  powers,  limitations, 
however,  which  make  for  its  advantage. 

The  approval  of  the  King  must  be  secured  to  the 
election  of  a  burgomaster  or  member  of  the  magis- 
trat,  but  this  approval  is  usually  given  as  a  matter 
of  course.  The  state  also  supervises  the  police  ad- 
ministration and  in  some  cities  the  police  are  under 
the  direction  of  state  officials.  Cities  are  required 
to  maintain  a  minimum  standard  of  education,  but 
beyond  this  minimum  they  are  permitted  to  exp 
ment  in  the  greatest  variety  of  ways.  If  the  income 
tax  exceeds  a  certain  rate  the  central  authorities 
have  a  right  to  interfere.  The  issuance  of  bonds  for 
new  undertakings  is  also  subject  to  approval,  but  in 
practice  the  department  of  the  interior  aids  and  en- 
courages cities  to  experiment  and  engage  in  new 
activities  which  are  for  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. Housing  experiments  are  encouraged,  while 
authorities  are  urged  to  acquire  and  develop  land. 
The  same  policy  is  adopted  in  the  working  out  of 
transportation  and  in  the  acquisition  and  develop- 
ment of  docks  and  harbors.  State  supervision  in 
Germany  is  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  the  < 
rather  than  repressing  it.  Standards  are  estab- 
lished and  new  ideas  are  promoted.  The  state  has 
a  solicitous  interest  in  progressive  administration  and 
aids  the  cities  in  many  ways.  In  addition,  the  suj 
vision  is  administrative  rather  than  legislative,  and 
by  reason  of  this  fact  the  regulations  of  the  state  are 
flexible  and  easily  adjusted  to  local  needs  and  re- 
quirements. 


GERMAN  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     131 

Summary. 

The  German  city  is  governed  by  experts.  This 
and  its  many  socialistic  activities  is  what  most  dis- 
tinguishes the  German  city  from  the  other  cities 
of  the  world.  The  administrative  officers  are  per- 
manent; they  enjoy  a  high  social  position,  receive 
generous  salaries,  and  are  trained  to  the  profession 
of  city  administration.  Members  of  the  council  are 
also  men  of  ability  and  experience  selected  from  the 
business  and  professional  classes. 

By  reason  of  these  conditions,  as  well  as  the  uni- 
versal desire  for  public  service,  the  German  city  is 
highly  efficient.  It  is  also  progressive,  even  social- 
istic, in  its  activities.  This  is  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  it  is  governed  by  the  business  classes,  who, 
through  the  three-class  system  of  voting,  control 
the  city  council,  which  in  turn  selects  the  burgo- 
master and  members  of  the  magistrat.  A  large  part 
of  the  taxes  is  collected  from  incomes,  which  leads 
to  economy  in  expenditure,  while  the  freedom  of  the 
city  to  project  great  undertakings  and  borrow  such 
money  as  is  needed  for  them  has  enabled  the  Ger- 
man city  to  project  and  plan  itself  in  a  big-visioned 
way. 

While  the  German  city  is  not  subject  to  legislative 
interference  as  it  is  in  America  and  Great  Britain, 
it  is  subject  to  supervision  by  the  interior  depart- 
ment, which  oversees  the  police,  approves  of  all 
loans  and  new  undertakings,  supervises  education, 
and  insists  upon  a  high  standard  of  efficiency  in  all 
departments.  Unlike  this  country,  the  state  is  an 
agency  for  the  promotion  of  municipal  activities 
and  the  encouragement  of  cities  in  new  undertakings. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION  IN  GREAT 
BRITAIN 

THE  cities,  or  boroughs,  as  they  are  called  in  Great 
Britain,  are  organized  under  the  Municipal  Corpo- 
rations Act  of  1835,  which  swept  away  the  privileged 
corporations  that  had  existed  for  several  centuries. 
Cities  are  still  governed  under  this  act  and  its  sub- 
sequent amendments. 

All  of  the  powers  and  authority  of  the  city  are 
lodged  in  a  large  council  elected  by  wards.    The 
mayor  is  chosen  by  the  council  from  its  member-  j 
ship.    The  town  clerk,  who  in  many  ways  is  the 
most  important  official  of  the  city,  is  selected  in  J 
the  same  way.    Local  education  is  administered  by  v 
a  council  committee.    This  is  the  framework  of  the 
British  city.    It  is  the  form  of  administration  for  all 
local  authorities. 

Cities  are  divided  into  wards,  with  three  members  J 
from  each,  one  of  whom  is  elected  every  year.     Im- 
mediately following  the  election  the  council  selects^ 
the  mayor,  who  serves  for  the  ensuing  year.    It  also 
appoints  the  committees.    Most  of  the  boroughs  are 
divided  into  sixteen  wards,  which  and  48  members*' 
to  the  council,  although  in  some  cities  the  couiu  il 
is  a  much  larger  body.   The  London  county  coun< 

132 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION    133 

which  governs  the  metropolitan  area  of  London, 
contains  118  members.  In  Manchester  the  council 
contains  103  members;  in  Liverpool,  134;  and  in 
Glasgow,  75.  Women  are  eligible  for  membership,^ 
and  in  recent  years  a  number  have  been  selected. 
Non-residents,  too,  may  be  elected  if  they  own 
property  within  the  municipality  or  pay  certain  rents 
and  live  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  borough.  Coun- 
cilmen  need  not  live  in  the  wards  which  they  repre- 
sent, and  many  members  are  elected  who  live  in  the 
suburbs  but  do  business  in  the  city.  This  enables 
the  community  to  draw  on  talent  wherever  it  may 
be  found.  It  also  introduces  an  element  of  perma- 
nency into  administration. 
Aldermen. 

In  addition  to  the  councilmen,  a  number  of  alder- 
men, usually  sixteen,  are  chosen  by  the  council  upon  / 
its  organization,  either  from  its  own  members  or 
from  distinguished  citizens  outside.    The  number  of  / 
aldermen  is  usually  one  third  of  the  council.    Alder- 
men are  chosen  for  six  years,  and  one  third  of  the  v 
number  retires  every  two  years.    Defeated  candi- 
dates for  the  council  are  not  infrequently  elected  as 
aldermen.    Re-elections  are  the  rule,  and  it  is  com- 
mon to  find  men  in  the  council  who  have  served  in 
one  capacity  or  another  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  aldermen  are  merely  councilmen  raised  to  a  \/ 
higher  degree.    They  sit  and  vote  with  the  council- 
men  on  all  questions,  the  only  distinction  between 
them  being  the  method  of  election  and  the  greater 
dignity  which  attaches  to  the  aldermanic  office.    The 


134  THE  MODERN  CITY 

aldermen  usually  hold  the  important  chairmanships 
by  virtue  of  long  service  and  sit  as  magistrates  in  the 
police  courts. 
Nominations  and  Elections. 

Any  qualified  man  or  woman  can  be  nominated  for 
the  council  by  the  filing  of  a  petition  signed  by  two  » 
proposers  and  eight  seconders.    There  are  no  con- 
ventions, caucuses,  or  primaries. 

The  municipal  election  is  held  in  November,  sep- 
arate from  parliamentary  elections.  The  ballot  is 
short  and  contains  only  the  names  of  one  or  more 
candidates  from  the  ward.  There  are  no  party  des-  * 
ignations,  for  the  party  is  not  recognized  by  law  in 
municipal  elections.  Names  are  printed  in  alpha- 
betical order  and  after  each  name  is  a  blank  in  which 
the  voter  indicates  his  choice. 

We  would  expect  such  a  system  to  produce  a  large 
number  of  candidates.  But  the  reverse  is  tr 
Quite  frequently  a  ward  will  have  no  contest  for 
years.  When  a  councillor  has  been  satisfactory  or 
the  party  is  overwhelmingly  strong,  the  incumbent 
is  left  undisturbed  in  his  seat.  It  has  happened  in 
some  city  elections  that  all  the  candidates  for  the 
council  have  been  returned  without  contest,  while  in 
the  election  of  1899  less  than  one  half  the  seats  in 
103  boroughs  were  opposed.  In  13  boroughs  there 
was  not  a  single  councilmanic  contest. 

Partisan  voting  is  the  rule,  and  candidates  are  se- 
lected by  the  local  committee  of  the  Conservative, v 
Liberal,  or  Labor  parties.    The  issues  upon  which 
elections  turn  are  substantially  the  same  as  thoee 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     135 

which  divide  candidates  for  Parliament.  Conserva- 
tive candidates  usually  represent  the  landed  inter- 
ests; Liberal  candidates  represent  the  business  and 
commercial  classes;  while  Labor  candidates  are  put 
forward  by  socialist  or  labor  groups.  Politics  plays 
a  part  in  the  organization  of  the  council,  in  the  se- 
lection of  aldermen  and  clerk,  and  in  determining 
the  policies  to  be  pursued. 

Simplicity  of  Administration. 

The  simplicity  of  the  city  charter  is  one  explana- 
tion  of  the  success  of  the  British  city.  There  is  but 
one  official  to  be  elected,  which  makes  it  easy  for 
the  voter  to  make  a  choice.  In  addition  there  is  the 
most  direct  responsibility  between  the  official  and 
his  constituents,  while  the  organization  of  the  council 
itself  makes  it  easy  to  locate  the  praise  or  the  blame. 
There  is  no  conflict  between  the  legislative  and  the 
executive  departments,  for  there  is  but  one  depart- 
ment, the  council.  Its  procedure,  too,  is  very  sim- 
ple and  the  transactions  are  reported  at  great  length 
in  the  daily  newspapers.  Municipal  campaigns  are 
often  hotly  contested,  especially  where  industrial 
and  social  questions  are  involved,  as  they  have  been 
in  recent  years  in  the  London  county  council. 
While  the  machinery  encourages  independence,  vot- 
ers adhere  to  their  parties  quite  as  tenaciously  as 
they  do  in  the  United  States.  In  fact,  there  is  less 
independent  voting  than  there  is  in  this  country. 
The  Committee  System. 

The  actual  administrative  work  of  the  council  is 
performed  by  committees,  each  of  which  is  a  council 


136  THE  MODERN  CITY 

in  miniature.  The  ranking  member  of  the  committee 
of  the  dominant  party  is  usually  the  chairman,  and 
if  he  is  a  man  of  power  he  exercises  great  influence. 
The  mayor  is  ex-officio  member  of  all  committees, 
although  he  rarely  takes  part  in  their  deliberations. 
In  the  larger  cities  there  are  from  twelve  to  twenty 
standing  committees,  each  of  which  may  be  divided 
into  sub-committees  to  which  are  assigned  special 
branches  of  the  work. 

The  committees  are  made  up  by  the  council,  on 
its  organization,  after  each  annual  election.  Or- 
dinarily the  personnel  of  the  committee  remains  but 
little  changed  from  year  to  year.  The  committee 
employs  the  director  and  staff  of  the  department 
u  1 1 « ler  its  control ;  it  fixes  the  wages  and  salaries  of  its 
employees  and  prepares  and  spends  its  budget.  All 
of  its  actions,  however,  are  referred,  from  time  to 
time,  to  the  council  for  approval,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  year  a  voluminous  report  is  made  of  the  com- 
mit tee's  work. 

To  be  chairman  of  an  important  committee  is  a 
substantial  honor.  This  is  particularly  true  of  coin- 
in  it  tees  which  control  the  street-railways,  gas  and 
electric  lighting  undertakings,  which  offer  opportu- 
nities for  men  of  large  constructive  ability.  To  be 
a  member  of  one  of  these  committees  is  like  being 
on  the  board  of  directors  of  a  large  railroad  corpora- 
tion and  it  is  sought  after  for  the  same  reason.  While 
the  committee  is  in  form  but  a  subdivision  of  the 
council,  in  actual  practice  it  acts  with  great  freedom 
in  its  designated  field.  For  the  activities  of  the  city 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     137 

have  become  so  numerous  that  each  committee  has 
become  a  council  in  miniature. 

The  Permanent  Expert. 

Great  Britain  has  not  developed  municipal  ad- 
ministration into  a  science  as  have  the  cities  of  Ger- 
many.   Neither  the  mayor,  the  aldermen,  nor  the 
councilmen  are  experts,  as  are  the  members  of  the  • 
magistrat,  and  none  of  them  receive  a  salary.    The 
permanent   expert   assistance  is,   however,  secured 
through  the  city  clerk  and  the  managers  of  the  vari-  *• 
ous  departments,  who  are  trained  men,  frequently 
chosen  by  competition  from  other  cities  or  advanced 
from  one  post  to  another,  much  as  are  the  managers 
of  a  private  corporation.   They  are  paid  good  salaries 
and  enjoy  a  good  local  position.    The  managers  are 
responsible  to  the  committee  which  supervises  them 
and  ultimately  to  the  council.    They,  with  the  sub- 
ordinate employees,  enjoy  permanent  tenure  and  are  * 
rarely  changed  for  political  reasons. 
The  Mayor. 

The  mayor  is  chairman  of  the  council  and  is  often 
selected  by  reason  of  distinguished  service  in  the 
council.    The  office  is  a  titular  rather  than  an  execu-  \/ 
tive  one,  for  the  mayor  has  no  veto  power,  he  makes  v 
no  appointments,  and  is  not  held  responsible  for  the  ^ 
success  or  failure  of  administration.    The  British 
system  does  not  encourage  a  strong  executive  as  does 
the  German  or  American  system,  and  in  consequence 
there  have  been  few  distinguished  mayors  in  Great 
Britain,  almost  the  only  exception  being  Mr.  Joseph 
Chamberlain,  who  was  mayor  of  Birmingham  from 
1873  to  1876. 


138  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  position  of  mayor,  or  provost,  as  the  mayor  is 
called  in  Scotland,  is  a  social  position.  He  is  the 
representative  of  the  city  on  all  public  occasions.  It 
is  his  duty  to  entertain  guests,  preside  at  public 
functions,  arbitrate  labor  disputes,  and  be  the  dig- 
nified representative  of  the  city  on  all  occasions.  II.  < 
real  powers  are  not  unlike  those  of  the  British  King. 
He  is  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  sits  as  magistrate 
in  the  disposition  of  petty  cases. 

In  spite  of  the  lack  of  power,  the  office  of  mayor  is 
the  goal  to  which  businessmen  and  councilmen  aspire. 
In  the  larger  cities  a  successful  mayor  is  usually 
knighted  as  a  recognition  of  his  services.  This  of 
itself  is  sufficient  return  to  justify  years  of  service 
and  a  heavy  personal  sacrifice.  For  the  mayor  re- 
es  no  salary.  And  in  the  larger  cities  he  must  be 
a  man  of  wealth  in  order  to  accept  the  position,  for 
his  social  expenses  are  very  heavy.  Some  of 
larger  cities,  like  London,  Liverpool,  and  Dublin,  pro- 
vide a  mansion-house  for  the  mayor,  while  others 
maintain  a  coach  and  pair  for  his  use.  Some  cities 
make  special  appropriations  for  his  expenses.  Dub- 
lin appropriates  $8,000  a  year  for  this  purpose,  Bris- 
tol, $5,000,  and  Edinburgh,  $5,000.  But  no  matter 
what  the  appropriation  may  be,  it  is  rarely  sufficient 
to  meet  the  expenses  incident  to  the  maintenance  of 
tli-'  office,  which  sometimes  entails  a  burden  of  from 
$20,000  to  $50,000  a  year. 

The  Town  Clerk. 

The  most  distinguished  permanent  position  in  the 
city  is  that  of  the  town  clerk,  who  receives  a  generous 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION    139 

salary  and  holds  office  usually  for  life.  The  office 
requires  a  high  order  of  ability,  for  the  clerk  must  be 
a  lawyer  and  be  trained  for  the  post.  The  clerk  of 
Glasgow  receives  $10,000  a  year.  Some  years  ago, 
when  a  vacancy  occurred,  the  council  of  that  city 
advertised  for  candidates  just  as  the  German  city 
advertises  for  members  of  the  magistrat. 

The  council  looks  to  the  clerk  for  advice  upon  all 
kinds  of  questions.  He  is  the  secretary  of  all  com- 
mittees and  the  custodian  of  the  city  records.  He 
prepares  the  reports  for  the  central  authorities,  is 
the  parliamentary  agent  of  the  municipality  in  the 
promotion  of  legislation,  and  performs  such  other 
duties  as  the  council  may  provide.  In  the  larger 
towns  he  has  a  number  of  assistants  trained  like  him- 
self. He  is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  burgomaster 
or  the  American  mayor  to  be  found  in  the  British 
city. 
Municipal  Employees. 

There  are  no  municipal  civil  service  laws  in  Great 
Britain  as  there  are  with  us,  but,  despite  this  fact, 
tenure  of  office  is  on  a  permanent  basis.  Public 
opinion  would  not  tolerate  the  use  of  public  office 
for  partisan  or  personal  ends. 

It  was  feared  by  some  that  the  extension  of  mu- 
nicipal trading,  with  the  thousands  of  employees 
which  it  added  to  the  pay-roll,  would  weaken  the 
traditions  of  public  office.  But  this  has  not  been  the 
case.  Rather  it  is  claimed  that  municipal  trading 
has  strengthened  the  merit  system  by  reason  of  the 
importance  of  the  city's  activities  in  the  eyes  of  the 


140  THE  MODERN  CITY 

voters.  Nor  has  the  increase  in  the  number  of  em- 
ployees been  followed  by  their  activity  in  politics. 
The  city  pays  a  higher  standard  of  wages  than  do 
private  employers;  it  treats  its  employees  better,  so 
that  public  office  is  highly  prized.  When  differences 
arise  they  are  usually  adjusted  by  arbitration. 
Personnel  of  the  Administration. 

TTie  town  council  draws  its  membership  largely 
from  shopkeeping  tradesmen,  with  a  sprinkling  of 
professional  men  and  working-class  representatives. 
And  the  cities  usuaDy  reflect  their  poiiit  of  view.  The 
aristocracy  does  not  mix  in  city  politics,  for  its  inter- 
ests are  in  the  country.  The  British  city  is  honestly 
administered)  altnoujcn  tnere  nave  pecn  occasional 

g-lif  MrL — V  nB  „      .in  •nit    ••  ,     fjf    Aim     rw^iin^il      •  n  •    n      in*/>» 

msuuicQB  wnere  njfjuijcas  01  me  wpuiif.ii  were  iiim1- 
ested  in  city  contracts;  but  these  have  been  very  rare, 
and  where  the  fact  has  been  disclosed  councQmen 
have  resigned  or  have  been  retired  from  office  at  the 
next  election.  Generally  speaking,  there  is  no  graft, 
no  machine,  no  spoils  system.  The  very  simpli 
of  the  organisation  precludes  this,  as  does  the  audit 
by  the  central  authority  and  the  scrutiny  of  the 
press  and  citiiens. 

The  British  city  is  also  efficient  Its  outlook  is 
less  generous  than  that  of  the  American  city  and  less 
scientific  than  that  of  Germany.  Extreme  economy 
is  the  prevailing  note  in  administration  and  the  com- 
munity is  very  resentful  of  any  activity  which  in- 
creases the  burden  of  taxation.  This  is  traceable 
to  the  method  of  collecting  local  revenues  from  ten- 
ants rather  than  from  property,  at  Great  Britain 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION    141 

still  has  the  mediaeval  system  of  local  taxation  by 
which  all  local  rates  or  taxes  are  assessed  against  the 
occupier  rather  than  the  owner.  And  as  aU  local 
revenues  come  from  this  single  source,  any  new 
undertakings  or  non-profitable  activities  are  jealously 
watched  by  the  community. 

Membership  in  the  council  carries  considerable 
local  distinction,  which  attracts  capable  and  compe- 
tent men-  For  the  traditions  of  public  service  in 
Great  Britain  affect  all  classes.  The  work  of  a 
councillor  is  very  exacting.  There  are  many  com- 
mittee meetings  to  be  attended  and  inspections  to 
be  made.  And  if  the  councilman  is  a  magistrate 
he  sits  in  the  local  courts.  If  he  is  chairman  of  a 
committee  his  duties  are  greatly  increased. 

The  Suffrage. 

Municipal  suffrage  is  a  tax  or  ratepayer's  privilege, 
and  it  is  limited  to  those  who  own  property  or  pay  a 
certain  minimum  sum  in  rent  and  have  lived  in  the 
community  the  requisite  time.  There  are  a  number 
of  other  limitations  which  restrict  it  still  further. 
In  Great  Britain  local  taxes  are  paid  by  the  tenant 
rather  than  by  the  owner.  They  are  computed  on 
the  rent  actually  paid  rather  than  on  the  selling  value 
of  the  property.  In  consequence,  as  almost  every- 
body is  a  tenant,  the  voter  thinks  in  tarns  of  the 
taxes  he  pays.  This  is  an  underlying  explanation 
of  the  British  city.  It  more  than  anything  else  in- 
fluences men's  minds  when  they  go  to  the  polls. 
People  talk  "rates"  in  the  British  city  as  nowhere 
else  in  Europe.  Taxes  form  an  absorbing  topic  of 


142  THE  MODERN  CITY 

conversation.  Every  project,  every  expenditure, 
every  activity  is  discussed  from  the  point  of  view 
of  its  effect  on  the  local  rates,  and  men  are  fre- 
quently defeated  for  the  council  because  of  their 
advocacy  of  some  measure  involving  an  increase  in 
the  burden  of  taxes,  who  in  Germany  or  America 
would  be  approved  for  their  public  spirit.  In  con- 
sequence, officials  are  slow  to  approve  of  needed 
measures  for  the  health  or  comfort  of  the  commu- 
nity because  of  their  fear  of  the  ratepayers.  By 
reason  of  this  fear,  too,  the  British  city  is  far  less 
generous  than  either  the  German  or  the  American 
city  in  its  expenditure  for  schools,  libraries,  and 
playgrounds.  For  the  local  rates  are  very  heavy 
and  are  consciously  felt  by  the  voter. 
The  Powers  of  the  British  City. 

The  powers  of  the  British  city,  and  the  things  it 
may  do  and  the  way  it  may  do  them,  are  specifically 
enumerated  by  Parliament  much  as  in  the  United 
States.  For  the  British  city  has  none  of  the  large 
freedom  of  the  German  city.  Powers  are  sometimes 
conferred  by  general,  sometimes  by  special  acts. 
The  city  cannot  frame  its  own  charter  or  amend  it, 
for,  as  has  been  stated,  all  charters  are  alike.  Nor 
can  it  determine  what  undertakings  it  will  carry 
on  or  what  activities  it  will  assume.  In  many  re- 
spects it  has  less  freedom  than  have  the  cities  of 
America.  If  a  city  desires  to  acquire  a  water  plant, 
it  must  go  to  Parliament  for  approval  of  its  plan. 
If  it  decides  to  take  over  a  street-railway,  gas,  or 
electric-lighting  plant,  it  promotes  a  special  bill 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION    143 

for  this  purpose  which  is  first  investigated  by  the 
local  government  board  and  by  a  committee  of 
Parliament,  and  then,  if  the  reports  are  favorable, 
an  act  is  passed  for  this  purpose.  The  city  can  only 
acquire  a  market  or  a  slaughter-house,  raze  a  slum, 
build  model  tenements,  or  plan  suburban  territory 
with  the  approval  of  the  central  authorities.  It  can- 
not change  its  tram  lines  from  horse  to  electric 
traction;  it  cannot  alter  the  lighting  power  of  gas; 
it  cannot  condemn  property  for  public  uses;  it  can- 
not perform  any  one  of  a  hundred  activities  on  its 
own  initiative  as  can  the  German  and  in  many  in- 
stances the  American  city.  For  the  British  city  en- 
joys only  those  powers  that  are  specifically  granted 
to  it,  while  the  German  city  enjoys  all  powers  that 
are  not  specifically  denied  to  it.  The  British  city 
is  in  chains  to  Parliament  much  as  are  our  own. 

Central  Administrative  Control. 

In  addition  to  this  parliamentary  control  the 
local  government  board,  which  is  a  cabinet  port- 
folio, supervises  many  of  the  city's  acts.  The 
board  has  control  of  poor-law  administration  and 
health.  It  audits  the  accounts  of  local  authorities 
in  England  and  Wales  by  deputies  who  go  from  city 
to  city  and  see  whether  any  irregularity  has  oc- 
curred. Under  the  Town  Planning  Act  of  1909 
the  board  passes  on  all  proposals  for  the  develop- 
ment of  suburban  areas  and  the  promotion  of 
health  and  sanitary  arrangements. 

There  are  no  constitutional  or  statutory  debt 
limits  on  the  cities  as  in  America,  and  the  city  can 


144  THE  MODERN  CITY 

borrow  to  any  amount  that  the  central  authorities 
permit.  But  it  cannot  borrow  a  penny  without 
this  assent.  And  it  has  to  secure  a  special  act  or 
order  for  this  purpose.  Orders  sanctioning  the  loans 
prescribe  the  rate  of  interest  to  be  paid,  the  sinking- 
fund  requirements,  and  other  details  relating  to  the 
loans.  Nor  do  cities  grant  franchises  to  public  serv- 
ice corporations — such  grants  are  made  by  Par- 
liament after  investigation  of  local  conditions  and 
after  the  community  itself  has  had  an  opportunity 
to  be  heard.  Generally  speaking,  the  city  is  pre- 
ferred to  a  private  corporation  if  it  is  willing  to 
undertake  the  project. 

The  most  serious  of  all  these  limitations  upon  the 
British  city  is  the  state  control  of  the  system  of 
local  taxation.  For  the  city  has  none  of  the  latitude 
of  the  German  city;  it  cannot  experiment,  cannot 
try  out  new  forms  or  methods  of  raising  local  rev- 
enues. It  is  compelled  to  collect  its  rates  by  a 
uniform  system  of  assessing  them  against  the  tenant, 
as  has  been  done  since  the  eighteenth  century. 
And  no  matter  what  the  value  of  property  may  be, 
if  it  has  no  tenant  from  whom  the  rents  can  be  col- 
lected, it  is  free  from  taxation.  Suburban  land  used 
for  market-gardening  is  taxed  on  the  rental  received 
from  the  market-garden,  while  unimproved  land  in 
the  heart  of  a  city  worth  millions  of  dollars  is  prac- 
tically free  from  taxation.  If  business  property  is 
occupied  by  a  residence,  it  is  taxed  on  the  rental 
received  from  the  house.  This  throws  all  the  local 
taxes  onto  the  producing  classes;  it  discourages  im- 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION     145 

provements  and  encourages  land  speculation.     This 
is  the  heaviest  burden  upon  the  British  city. 

More  than  five  hundred  corporations  have  organ- 
ized to  protest  against  this  injustice.  Year  after 
year  they  have  petitioned  Parliament  to  permit 
them  to  assess  land  values  at  their  selling  value,  as 
is  done  in  the  United  States.  But  the  landowning 
interests  in  Parliament  are  so  powerful  that  they 
have  refused  to  permit  this  change  to  be  made. 

The  American,  German,  and  English  Systems  Compared. 

In  all  European  countries  there  is  but  one  official 
to  be  elected  by  the  people,  and  that  is  the  town- 
councillor,  and  he  is  chosen  from  the  ward.  All 
others  are  either  appointed  or  selected  by  the  coun- 
cil. The  ballot  contains  not  more  than  two  or  three 
names  representing  the  different  parties  which  make 
the  nominations.  National  and  municipal  elections 
are  usually  held  on  different  days,  so  that  the  munic- 
ipality is  not  sacrificed  to  some  issue  of  overshadow- 
ing national  importance.  In  England  the  method 
of  nomination  is  as  simple  as  the  election.  Candi- 
dates are  placed  before  the  voters  by  a  petition 
signed  by  two  proposers  and  eight  seconders.  This 
is  the  only  formality  required. 

All  other  city  officials  are  chosen  by  the  council 
and  are  responsible  to  it.  There  is  no  confusion 
between  the  executive  and  legislative  departments 
and  no  independent  boards  or  commissions  to  con- 
fuse the  voter.  The  simplicity  of  the  charter  is  one 
explanation  of  the  efficiency  of  the  European  city. 

In  recent  years  municipalities  have  greatly  ex- 


146  THE  MODERN  CITY 

tended  their  activities.  They  own  the  public  sen-- 
ice corporations  which  use  the  streets,  while  docks, 
markets,  slaughter-houses,  and  other  activities  are 
generally  under  municipal  control.  By  reason  of  its 
importance  the  city  attracts  men  of  commanding 
talent  to  the  administration.  In  addition  there  is 
no  conflict  of  interest  within  the  community  such 
as  prevails  in  most  American  cities.  Men  are  free 
to  enter  the  council,  for  their  patriotism  is  not  con- 
fused with  their  private  interests.  This  and  the 
commanding  importance  of  the  city  explain  the 
attitude  of  mind  of  the  citizen  and  the  psychology 
of  the  voter.  This  is  the  background  of  the  Euro- 
pean city,  especially  those  of  Germany  and  Great 
Britain. 

Summary. 

The  governing  agency  of  the  British  city  is  the 
town  council.  Members  of  the  council  are  the  only 
officials  elected  by  the  people.  The  mayor  is  chosen 
by  the  council  for  one  year  and  the  town  clerk  and 
othrr  officials  are  selected  in  the  same  way.  Mem- 
bers of  the  council  are  elected  by  wards  rather  than 
at  large. 

This  is  the  framework  of  the  British  city.  It  is 
very  simple.  Local  elections  are  held  in  different 
years  from  those  of  the  nation,  and  in  consequence 
municipal  questions  are  not  confused  with  those  of 
the  state.  Nominations  are  equally  simple.  There 
are  no  caucuses  or  conventions,  nominations  being 
made  by  petition. 

The  administrative  work  of  the  city  is  performed 
by  committees,  which  take  the  place  of  the  directors 
of  departments  in  this  country  and  the  members  of 


BRITISH  MUNICIPAL  ADMINISTRATION    147 

the  magistral  in  Germany.  The  chairman  of  each 
committee  is  in  a  sense  an  expert  by  reason  of  his 
long  service.  The  only  analogy  to  the  German  ex- 
pert is  the  town  clerk  and  the  salaried  heads  of  the 
various  departments,  who  are  trained  men,  ad- 
vanced from  post  to  post  or  called  from  city  to  city 
by  reason  of  their  recognized  efficiency. 

The  mayor  is  a  titular  rather  than  an  executive 
official.  He  holds  office  for  one  year,  receives  no 
salary,  has  no  offices  or  appointments  to  bestow, 
and  is  little  more  than  the  city's  chief  dignitary,  to 
represent  it  on  all  public  occasions. 

Tenure  of  office  among  the  subordinate  employees 
is  permanent,  although  there  are  no  civil-service  laws 
in  the  cities. 

The  town  council  is  recruited  from  tradesmen  and 
shopkeepers  and  the  city  reflects  their  point  of  view. 
The  suffrage  is  a  taxpayers'  privilege  and  is  extended 
to  women  as  well  as  men.  Local  rates  are  collected 
from  tenants,  and  by  reason  of  this  fact  the  city  is 
economical,  even  parsimonious,  in  its  outlay.  It 
is  not  as  generous  as  the  American  city  or  as  big- 
visioned  in  its  outlook  and  activities  as  the  German 
city.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  system  of  taxation, 
which  falls  very  heavily  upon  the  poorer  classes  and 
leads  to  the  closest  scrutiny  of  municipal  expendi- 
tures. 

The  British  city  has  little  of  the  freedom  of  the 
German  city.  Its  powers  are  covered  by  general 
and  special  acts  and  are  specifically  enumerated  by 
Parliament.  The  city  can  only  do  the  things  it  is 
authorized  to  do.  New  powers  are  granted  by  Par- 
liament upon  application  of  the  town  council.  Even 
the  right  to  issue  bonds  to  acquire  a  street-railway  or 
other  public  service  corporation,  to  raze  a  slum  or 
carry  on  any  new  activity,  must  be  first  indorsed 


148  THE  MODERN  CITY 

by  the  city  council  and  then  approved  by  Parlia- 
ment before  it  can  be  entered  upon.  As  in  Germany, 
cities  are  also  subject  to  administrative  control  by 
parliamentary  bodies,  which  audit  accounts,  super- 
vise the  administration  of  health  and  the  Town  Plan- 
ning Act,  and  in  many  other  ways  oversee  the  actual 
administration  of  local  officials. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  CITY  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE 
CORPORATION 

IN  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  discussed  the 
city  from  the  point  of  view  of  forms  rather  than  of 
functions;  we  have  analyzed  the  machinery  with 
which  the  city  is  endowed  for  the  doing  of  its  work 
and  have  seen  that  the  legal  limitations  which  sur- 
round it  are  such  as  make  efficiency  difficult,  if  not 
impossible.  We  have  found  that  many  of  the  fail- 
ures of  the  city  are  traceable  to  legal  and  institu- 
tional evils  created  by  our  constitutions  and  laws. 

Another  explanation  of  our  failure  is  to  be  found 
in  the  policy  adopted  toward  those  corporations 
which  use  the  streets  for  the  supply  of  water,  gas, 
electricity,  telephone,  and  transportation  services, 
a  policy  which  is  more  largely  responsible  for  the 
corruption  of  our  cities  than  any  other  single  cause. 
These  corporations  have  stood  in  the  way  of  reform 
and  have  prevented  needed  changes  in  municipal 
charters.  Back  of  the  surface  explanations  of  the 
city  is  to  be  found  another  institutional  evil,  which 
has  been  generally  overlooked  by  students  and  re- 
formers in  their  study  of  the  city. 

Municipal  Franchises. 

Cities  quite  generally  own  the  water  supply  but 
intrust  the  other  municipal  services  to  private 
operation.  The  grant  is  usually  made  by  the 

149 


150  THE  MODERN  CITY 

council  but  sometimes  by  the  State  legislature. 
The  grant  or  franchise  is  in  the  nature  of  a  contract, 
and  provides  for  the  period  of  its  enjoyment,  the 
service  to  be  rendered,  the  prices  that  may  be 
charged,  and  many  other  conditions,  all  of  which 
affect  the  earnings  of  the  company.  It  is  this  that 
distinguishes  the  public  service  corporation  from 
other  business,  for  it  can  only  operate  with  the  per- 
mission of  the  city  and  its  capitalization  and  profits 
depend  upon  the  liberality  of  the  grant. 

A  generation  ago,  when  the  policy  of  private  owner- 
ship was  entered  upon,  these  grants  had  but  little 
value.  The  art  was  in  its  experimental  stage  and 
the  cities  were  for  the  most  part  small.  As  the 
towns  grew  in  population  the  franchises  became 
valuable.  The  transfer  from  horse  to  electric  trao- 
he  increase  in  the  size  of  cars,  the  improve- 
ment in  the  arts,  and  the  economies  in  opera 
still  further  increased  the  earnings  of  the  companies. 
For  the  street-railway,  gas,  electric-light,  water,  and 
telephone  industries  are  industries  of  increasing 
/[returns — that  is,  their  profits  increase  more  rap- 
dly  than  do  the  operating  expenses.  In  addition, 
they  are  natural  monopolies  and  are  not  subject  to 
the  regulating  power  of  competition.  There  is  no 
place  for  two  gas  or  electric  lighting  plants  in  the 
same  town,  and,  while  many  cities  tried  competition, 
in  the  end  the  companies  consolidated  or  reached  a 
working  agreement  as  to  territory,  so  that  after  a 
few  years'  warfare  competition  came  to  an  end  and 
the  companies  passed  under  a  single  management. 


THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION     151 

Advent  of  Corporations  into  Politics. 

About  1890  the  value  of  these  grants  began  to 
be  appreciated.  Securities  were  issued  far  in  ex- 
cess of  the  value  of  the  property.  The  value  of 
these  securities  depended  upon  the  terms  of  the 
contract  with  the  community.  The  terms  also  de- 
termined the  dividends  which  could  be  paid.  This 
led  the  corporations  into  politics.  They  wanted  to 
be  free  to  charge  what  they  would  for  the  serv- 
ice rendered,  to  avoid  competition,  regulation,  and 
municipal  ownership.  They  struggled  to  evade  tax- 
ation, to  be  free  to  open  and  repair  the  streets  at 
will.  A  hundred  influences  drove  them  into  pol- 
itics for  the  strengthening  of  their  privileges. 

Early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  too,  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  established  the  doctrine,  in 
the  Dartmouth  College  Case,  that  a  grant  from  a 
city  was  in  the  nature  of  a  contract,  which  could 
only  be  altered  with  the  consent  of  both  parties. 
The  courts  held  that  permission  from  the  city  to 
use  the  streets  was  not  a  license  that  could  be  re- 
voked or  altered  at  pleasure;  it  was  a  legal  and 
binding  contract.  In  addition,  under  that  pro- 
vision of  the  Constitution  which  provides  that  pri- 
vate property  shall  not  be  taken  without  due  proc- 
ess of  law,  cities  have  been  restrained  by  the  courts 
from  reducing  rates  and  charges  or  from  ascertaining 
at  what  rates  these  services  could  be  rendered. 
Fortified  by  constitutions,  laws,  and  judicial  de- 
cisions, the  public  service  corporations  have  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  an  almost  complete  monopoly, 


152  THE  MODERN  CITY 

which  monopoly  depends  for  its  continuance  upon 
a  control  of  the  politics  of  the  city  and  the  State  as 
well  as  the  courts  which  interpret  these  laws. 
The  Value  of  Franchises. 

The  value  of  public  service  franchises  is  colossaL 
In  most  cities  of  over  10,000  people  it  exceeds  the 
city's  debt.  Mr.  John  Moody,  the  editor  of  Moody1 8 
Manual,  has  stated  that  the  value  of  the  franchises 
of  the  public  service  corporations  in  New  York  ex- 
ceeds $750,000,000.  In  Toledo,  according  to  May .  •  r 
Brand  Whitlock,  the  street-railway  company  "had 
about  $5,000,000  of  actual  investment,  while  it  had 
a  capitalization  in  stocks  and  bonds  of  nearly  $30,- 
000,000,  and  the  difference  of  $25,000,000  was  the 
community  value,  which  the  magnates  had  been 
Citing  for  their  own  benefit."1  Some  years  ago 
the  physical  property  of  the  seven  Chicago  traction 
companies  was  appraised  at  $44,932,011,  while  the 
market  value  of  the  securities  issued  upon  the  prop- 
rrty  was  $120,235,539.  Two  thirds  of  the  securities 
were  based  upon  the  grant  from  the  city.  The 
street-railway  company  in  Cleveland  claimed  that 
its  franchise  was  worth  $20,000,000,  while  in  many 
cities  of  500,000  population  stocks  and  bonds  have 
been  issued  against  the  franchises  alone  of  from  $50,- 
000,000  to  $75,000,000. 

A  Corrupting  Influence  in  Politics. 

In  order  to  pay  interest  on  these  inflated  secu- 
rities the  corporations  must  be  free  from  regulation 
or  competition;  they  must  preserve  a  monopoly  of 
service.  And  this  is  only  possible  through  pol- 

'Forty  y«anqf /<,  Brand  Whitlock,  p.  337. 


THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION    153 

itics.  Councilman  and  city  officials  are  bribed; 
sometimes  openly,  more  often  they  are  given  con- 
tracts or  some  indirect  payment.  The  corpora- 
tions identify  themselves  with  the  party  organiza- 
tions. They  contribute  to  campaign  funds.  In 
order  to  secure  votes  at  elections  they  enter  into 
partnership  with  the  saloon  and  with  vice,  as  has 
been  shown  by  the  disclosures  in  a  score  of  cities. 
They  control  or  influence  the  press,  sometimes 
through  ownership,  more  often  through  advertisers, 
for  the  securities  of  these  corporations  are  owned 
by  the  influential  men  in  the  community.  They 
are  also  identified  with  the  banks  and  through 
the  banks  with  the  entire  business  community. 
For  the  banks  control  credit,  and  through  credit 
they  influence  the  business  men  and  advertisers. 
When  the  election  of  an  honest  and  independent 
administration  may  impair  the  value  of  these  priv- 
ileges, the  banking,  professional,  and  business  in- 
terests are  united  with  the  public  service  corpora- 
tions in  an  effort  to  protect  the  grants.  On  the 
one  side  is  the  wealth  and  talent  of  the  city,  inter- 
ested in  the  maintenance  of  improper  privileges. 
On  the  other  hand  is  unorganized  democracy,  badly 
equipped  with  political  machinery  for  a  contest  and 
limited  in  a  score  of  ways  by  the  State,  by  the  con- 
stitution and  the  courts,  in  its  efforts  to  secure  re- 
dress. 

The  "  Invisible  Government." 

In  most  of  our  cities  the  public  service  corpora- 
tion is  the  "invisible  government"  behind  the  boss 


154  THE  MODERN  CITY 

and  the  political  parties.  Identified  with  it  are  the 
steam-railways,  which  desire  water-front  terminals, 
sidings,  and  switches.  They,  too,  fear  regulation; 
they,  too,  desire  privileges.  Together  they  are  united 
into  a  sympathetic  organization  which  ramifies  into 
every  class.  In  order  the  easier  to  control  the  city, 
these  interests  enter  State  politics,  for  the  State 
controls  the  city's  charter  and  the  powers  which 
it  enjoys.  Together  they  oppose  charter  changes, 
home  rule,  the  initiative,  referendum,  and  recall, 
for  all  of  these  agencies  of  democracy  endanger  their 
power.  The  courts  interpret  grants;  they  pass  upon 
the  powers  of  the  city.  There  are  innumerable  per- 
sonal-injury suits,  so  the  courts  are  involved  in 
the  system.  Any  understanding  of  municipal  con- 
ditions during  the  past  twenty  years  is  impossible 
without  an  appreciation  of  the  extent  of  the  control 
of  our  politics  by  these  interests. 

This,  up  to  very  recently,  was  a  universal  condi- 
tion. There  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  no  exception  in  any 
city  of  any  size.  It  has  been  found  in  Philadelphia, 
Pittsburgh,  Cleveland,  Toledo,  Cincinnati,  Colum- 
bus, Detroit,  Milwaukee,  Chicago,  Denver,  San 
Francisco,  and  in  almost  every  city  where  an  at- 
tempt has  been  made  to  regulate  the  public  service 
corporation,  to  control  its  rates  and  charges,  or  to 
convict  prominent  citizens  of  bribery  or  corruption.1 

»  For  graphic  stories  of  the  contests  of  several  cities  with  the  public 
service  corporations,  see  the  personal, experience  of  Tom  L.  John- 
son in  My  Story,  of  Brand  Whitlock  in  Forty  Y eon  of  It,  of  Ben  B. 
Lindsay  in  The  Beast.  See  also  Lincoln  Steffeos,  Tk*  Skamt  of  the 
Otic*  and  The  Struggle  for  Sctf-Govcrnment. 


THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION     155 

An  Ohio  Example. 

Few  States  have  been  as  ruthlessly  sacrificed  by 
these  interests  as  has  Ohio.  In  1901  Mr.  Tom  L. 
Johnson  was  elected  mayor  of  Cleveland.  The 
franchises  of  the  street-railway  companies  were 
about  to  expire.  For  years  the  companies  had  been 
seeking  renewals  which  Mr.  Johnson  would  only 
approve  on  a  three-cent-fare  basis.  A  competing 
street-railway  company  offered  to  build  a  line  or 
buy  out  the  existing  companies  and  carry  passen- 
gers at  this  rate.  It  also  agreed  to  take  over  the 
lines  of  the  old  company  when  the  franchises  ex- 
pired. Grants  were  made  to  the  new  company, 
which  laid  several  miles  of  track.  Then  further 
operations  were  suspended  by  an  order  of  the  su- 
preme court,  which  declared  the  charter  of  Cleve- 
land to  be  unconstitutional  because  it  involved  a 
classification  of  cities. 

At  that  time  Cleveland  had  a  nearly  model  char- 
ter. It  had  been  draughted  by  public-spirited  citi- 
zens and  approved  by  the  legislature.  The  courts  had 
previously  sustained  the  classification  of  cities  ac- 
cording to  population  and  the  adoption  of  charters 
adjusted  to  the  needs  of  the  cities  in  each  class. 
This  decision  had  remained  unchallenged  for  years. 
Under  this  charter  the  mayor  of  Cleveland  enjoyed 
large  powers.  He  appointed  all  the  executive  of- 
ficials, who  formed  a  city  cabinet.  The  charter  of 
Cleveland  was  attacked  in  the  courts,  as  was  the 
charter  of  Toledo,  where  Samuel  Jones,  familiarly 
known  as  Golden  Rule  Jones,  was  also  making 


156  THE  MODERN  CITY 

trouble  for  the  public  service  corporations.  To  the 
surprise  of  the  State,  the  supreme  court  reversed 
its  previous  holdings  and  declared  the  charters  of 
Cleveland  and  Toledo  to  be  unconstitutional.  It 
enjoined  the  officials  of  Cleveland  from  further  con- 
sidering any  street-railway  legislation  and  restrained 
the  city  from  exercising  its  proper  municipal  func- 
tions. A  similar  order  was  directed  against  Toledo. 

Both  the  Republican  and  the  Democratic  parties 
in  Ohio  were  under  the  control  of  the  men  who 
owned  or  represented  the  street-railway  properties 
of  Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  and  Toledo. 
They  nominated  governors  and  State  officials  and 
controlled  the  legislature.  A  special  session  of  the 
assembly  was  called  to  enact  a  uniform  municipal 
code  for  all  cities  to  meet  the  decision  of  the  su- 
preme court.  A  law  was  prepared  by  attorneys  of 
the  public  service  corporations  which  was  adopted 
by  the  legislature  in  the  face  of  the  protest  of  the 
State.  It  destroyed  the  charters  of  over  sixty  cities 
and  provided  a  municipal  code  which  created  an 
almost  unworkable  machinery  and  added  millions 
of  dollars  to  the  cost  of  city  administration.  The 
nrw  charter  went  back  to  the  "board  systri 
Under  it  the  powers  of  the  mayor  were  taken  from 
him  and  distributed  among  a  large  number  of 
officials  to  be  elected  by  the  people.  The  governor 
was  authorized  to  remove  mayors  on  charges,  while 
a  large  council  was  created  designed  to  make  effec- 
tivr  organization  impossible. 

It  was  assumed  that  the  people  could  not  work 


THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION     157 

such  an  instrument;  that  they  could  not  nominate 
councilmen,  administrative  officials,  a  law  director 
and  mayor  who  would  work  together.  Each  was 
expected  to  be  a  check  upon  the  other. 

By  these  means  it  was  expected  that  the  Cleve- 
land and  Toledo  movements  would  be  destroyed. 
In  this  it  failed.  It  did,  however,  cripple  and  in- 
crease the  cost  of  administration  of  all  the  cities  of 
the  State. 

San  Francisco.  ^fl£ 

Prior  to  the  earthquake  in  San  Francisco  the  city 
was  under  the  dominion  of  a  boss,  and  the  mayor 
and  supervisors  had  traded  in  all  sorts  of  privileges. 
Crime  and  vice  had  been  given  protection.  It  was 
alleged  that  $200,000  had  been  paid  for  a  valuable 
trolley  franchise.  Disclosures  led  to  an  organized 
movement  for  the  prosecution  of  the  offenders. 
Criminal  proceedings  were  started.  They  were  in- 
trusted to  Francis  J.  Heney,  who  had  previously 
broken  up  the  Oregon  land  frauds  and  who  was  a 
fearless  prosecutor.  Mr.  Heney  described  the  polit- 
ical conditions  which  he  found  in  San  Francisco  as 
follows: 

"In  the  Pacific  Coast  city  all  corruption  flowed 
from  two  sources.  On  the  right  hand  we  had 
the  public  service  corporations — corporations  that 
wanted  something  from  the  public  for  nothing — 
and  on  the  left  hand  we  had  disorderly  houses  and 
dives.  And  strangely  enough,  although  the  so- 
called  best  citizens  were  at  the  head  of  the  corpora- 
tions, these  two  sinister  influences  were  joined  in  an 


158  THE  MODERN  CITY 

unholy  wedlock,  the  purpose  of  the  union  being  a 

I  prolific  issue  of  ill-gotten,   dishonest  profit.    The 
political  boss  was  only  an  echo  of  the  real  boss,  the 
business  man  who  wished  to  exploit  the  people^ 
"The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek,"  he  says.  J^The 
'  best  brains  in  this  country  are  not  active  in  the  work 
.,   of  solving  social  problems.    They  are  dedicated  to 
Y  Mammon^  and  often  they  strike  at  the  very  founda- 
tion of  popular  government  by  methods  that  would 
not  bear  the  light." 

The  disclosures  led  to  the  indictment  of  many 
politicians  as  well  as  the  president  of  the  street-rail- 
way company,  who  was  charged  with  giving  a  bribe 
of  $200,000.  The  trial  of  the  street-railway  president 
was  long  drawn  out;  it  was  bitterly  contested,  and 
finally  the  jury  disagreed.  The  extent  to  which 
this  single  corporation,  created  by  the  community 
and  enriched  by  it,  ramified  into  all  classes  and  be- 
came the  all-absorbing  issue  in  the  city,  has  been 
dramatically  described  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Gerber- 
ding,  who  organized  a  group  of  women  to  support 
the  prosecution: 

"Since  the  first  years  of  the  century  a  corrupt 
Mayor,  a  corrupt  Board  of  Supervisors,  creatures 
of  the  supremely  corrupt  boas,  Abraham  Reuf,  had 
controlled  th<  city.  Th"y  had  traded  in  franchises, 
licenses,  permits,  and  special  privileges  as  perhaps 
a  political  ring  never  traded  before.  More,  they 
had  organized  crime  and  vice,  given  it  protection, 
entered  into  partnership  with  it.  The  climax  came 
when  they  accepted  a  bribe  of  $200,000  for  a  'free* 
trolley  franchise  worth  millions  of  dollars  to  the 


THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION     159 

city  had  the  city  sold  it  fairly.  A  group  of  reform- 
ers, led  first  by  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin  and  then 
by  Francis  J.  Heney,  had  exposed  this  condition 
of  affairs,  had  indicted  the  little  bosses  and  bribe 
takers — to  the  universal  applause  of  the  commu- 
nity— and  had  reached  out  for  the  big  bribe  givers 
— to  the  universal  horror  of  the  'upper  classes/ 

"What  can  I  do?  I  asked  myself.  And  the  sit- 
uation, as  it  grew  in  intensity,  found  me  an  answer. 
The  second  Reuf  trial  was  drawing  to  a  close.  The 
guilty  and  desperate  'men  higher  up/  who  were  his 
partners  in  crime,  began  a  systematic  campaign 
against  right  thinking.  It  worked.  Men  of  good 
private  honor  vigorously  upheld  dishonor.  Not  by 
discussing  the  issues  at  stake — from  the  first  it 
seemed  impossible  to  get  one  such  discussion — but 
by  wilful  evasion  of  them.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
people  could  not  think  straight.  Perhaps  the  most 
wonderful  thing  which  we  encountered  on  this  expe- 
dition into  strange  lands  was  that  the  most  intelli- 
gent part  of  the  community  insisted  on  ignoring  the 
basic  principles.  Side  issues,  prejudices^  petty  ha- 
treds, dislikes,  family  affiliations,  and,£supremely, 
hiTsrnps«  iflt.prp.st.fi — nprm  tfrese  public  opinion  swung. 

~"  Perhaps  because  I  noticed  them  more,  or  perhaps 
because  women  are  naturally  intense  partizans,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  we  met  the  most  violent  oppo- 
sition from  our  own  sex.  Heney  ?  It  mattered  not 
that  he  had  broken  up  the  Oregon  land  frauds,  that, 
when  the  prosecution  was  attacking  only  the  little 
grafters,  society  had  petted  him.  Now  he  was  a 
'persecutor/  Rudolph  Spreckels?  It  mattered  not 
that  he  had  been  irreproachable  until  he  gave 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  support  the  prosecu- 
tion. Now,  he  was  'out  for  revenge/  James  D. 
Phelan?  It  mattered  not  that  he,  three-times 


160  THE  MODERN  CITY 

mayor  of  San  Francisco,  had  rightly  been  considered 
by  society  the  cleanest,  most  efficient  executive 
who  ever  ruled  us.  Now,  he  was  the  'kid-glove 
boss/  the  'purchaser  of  newspapers.'  'It's  just  a 
fight  between  two  millionaires,  Mr.  Spreckels  wants 
to  get  Mr.  Calhoun's  railways  away  from  him/  said 
one  elderly  woman. 

"  For  an  expression  of  hatred  as  near  to  a  curse  as 
her  gentle  breeding  would  permit,  she  used  to  shake 
her  fist  at  Mr.  Spreckels's  house  whenever  she  passed 
it  and  cry,  'Oh,  that  dreadful  man!'  The  thing 
was  tearing  society  apart;  as  long  as  this  genera- 
tion lasts,  we  shall  feel  it  in  San  Francisco  in  new  so- 
cial alignments.  It  was  in  this  period  that  a  man 
who  was  not  taking  sides  gave  a  large  ball.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rudolph  Spreckels  attended.  They  were 
treated  so  shabbily,  so  outrageously,  that  the  host, 
for  a  rebuke,  seated  them  at  his  right  and  left  at 
supper. 

I  grew  hardened  to  'cuts'  on  the  street;  in 
t  imc  I  adopted  the  plan  of  'seeing'  no  one.  It  was 
the  easiest  way.  We  have  each  our  little  private 
vanities  and  sensitive  points;  and  I  shall  always 
remember  with  amusement  the  thing  which  hurt 
me  most.  At  one  stage  of  the  fight,  I  wrote  letters 
of  appeal  to  four  women  who  are  acknowledged 
leaders  in  society — leaders  not  in  frivolities  alone, 
but  in  the  linn*  outlook  on  life.  Avoiding  person- 
alities, I  asked  their  help  in  overcoming  the  fake 
ethics  prevailing  in  tlio  city  and  in  establishing  a 
worthy  code  of  morals.  With  one  exception,  these 
were  acquaintances  at  whose  homes  I  had  been 
entertained.  Not  one  replied  to  my  letter.  Cu- 
riously, laughing  as  I  did  at  'cuts/  I  was  hurt  when 
I  thought  that  a  letter  of  mine  had  gone  unanswered. 

"Others  suffered  more  materially.    Mr.  Oliver, 


THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION     161 

foreman  of  the  famous  Oliver  grand  jury  which 
brought  some  of  the  indictments,  was  so  injured  in 
his  business  of  real  estate  that  he  had  to  leave  San 
Francisco.  He  was  the  son  of  a  pioneer  merchant, 
which  means  something  in  San  Francisco,  and  his 
standing  had  been  irreproachable.  A  grocer  on 
that  same  jury,  who  voted  according  to  his  con- 
science, lost  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  trade  a 
month.  On  the  Sunday  following  the  attempt  to 
assassinate  Heney,  Dr.  David  Evans,  pastor  of 
Grace  Episcopal  Church,  offered  prayer  for  his 
recovery.  Heney  was  lying  then  at  the  point  of 
death.  The  pews  murmured  audibly;  many  women 
rose  from  their  knees  and  left  the  church.  'I  am 
on  earth  for  a  brief  time;  I  must  be  true  to  myself; 
I  could  not  go  through  all  eternity  despising  my 
own  soul/  said  Dr.  Evans  when  we  praised  him. 
But,  a  short  time  thereafter,  Grace  Church  became 
Grace  Cathedral,  rich,  endowed,  and  somehow  Dr. 
Evans  was  lost  in  the  reorganization.  He  has  now 
a  small  church  at  Palo  Alto.  The  next  prosecutor 
who  becomes  a  martyr  to  justice  may  die  or  recover 
without  the  prayers  of  Grace  Cathedral. 

"They  had  subsidized  or  influenced  most  of  the 
daily  newspapers;  had  subsidized  all  save  one  or 
two  of  the  weeklies  which  are  so  common  and  so 
pernicious  in  San  Francisco.  These  were  pouring 
forth  their  poisoned  statements  and  twisted  truths. 
As  the  trial  went  on,  the  attorneys  for  the  people 
found  the  courtroom  packed  with  paid  thugs,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  laugh  at  every  serious  point  made 
by  the  prosecution  and  to  seem  impressed  by  ev- 
ery argument  of  the  defense — all  this  to  influence 
the  jury.  The  prosecution  needed  support  in  the 
courtroom.  There  was  a  League  of  Justice  in  San 
Francisco,  whose  purpose  it  was  to  uphold  Heney 


162  THE  MODERN  CITY 

and  the  people.  But  these  were  clerks  and  profes- 
sional and  small  business  men ;  they  had  no  time  to 
sit  through  session  after  session  of  the  trial.  So 
women,  representing  the  only  decent  leisure  class, 
formed  an  auxiliary  and  prepared  to  encourage 
justice  by  our  presence — a  little  thing  perhaps,  but 
more  important  than  any  one  can  appreciate  who 
did  not  live  through  that  strange  episode  in  our 
civic  history.  We  knew,  as  well  as  we  know  now, 
that  it  would  mean  ostracism,  slander,  vilification, 
unpleasant  newspaper  notoriety,  financial  injury, 
broken  friendships.  But  we  organized  nevertheless 
—only  a  handful  at  first — and  took  up  the  one  piece 
of  work  which  we  could  do. 

"Then  were  we  made  to  realize  what  a  terrible 
offense  against  humanity  we  had  committed  when 
we  chose  justice  in  preference  to  financial  power  and 
social  position.  From  the  moment  that  the  Calhoun 
trial  began,  that  which  we  call  'society/  for  want  of 
a  better  name,  made  the  prosecution  a  bitter  per- 
sonal affair.  The  'better  portion'  of  the  com- 
munity flouted  Heney,  slandered  the  prominent 
i  who  stood  by  him,  and  ostracized  us,  his  sup- 
porters. 

"That  is  what  we  learned  during  those  five  months 
in  court.  \\'e  filled  in  the  unconnected  joints  in 
ilf  system,  and  matched  it  with  our  women's  home 
morals — we  had  learned  no  other  code.  It  is  like 
tip-  house  that  Jack  built.  Jack  is  the  'boss.1  He 
sells  the  privileges  of  the  people  to  the  corporations. 
The  corporations  float  their  bonds  through  the 
banks  and  the  banks  get  their  money  from  Wall 
Street.  And  the  stick  of  Wall  Street  beats  the 
banks  and  the  banks  beat  the  department  stores, 
and  the  department  stores  (their  stick  is  called  ad- 
vertising) beat  the  newspapers  and  the  newspapers 


THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  CORPORATION     163 

— tell  half  the  news.  And  corporation,  bank,  store, 
newspaper  are  run  by  men  who  have  learned  home 
morals  at  the  knees  of  women  like  us  '  knitters  of 
the  graft  prosecution'  and  then  gone  out  into  the 
world  to  practise  'business  morals/  I  am  a  woman, 
bewildered  by  it  all,  and  I  can  not  yet  see  those 
business  morals  though  men  have  tried  to  explain 
them  to  me."1 

Other  Cities. 

The  same  conflict  has  arisen  in  Philadelphia, 
Columbus,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Denver,  in  a  score  of 
cities  where  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  regulate 
the  public  service  corporation.  It  cannot  be  other- 
wise. We  have  offered  such  colossal  opportunities 
for  easy  wealth  by  a  contract  with  city  officials  that 
almost  any  means  are  adopted  to  secure  it.  Once 
acquired,  those  who  own  are  interested  in  the  pres- 
ervation of  their  privileges.  They  are  the  most 
influential  class  in  the  community.  They  cannot 
enter  city  politics  even  if  they  desired  to  do  so, 
for  they  are  distrusted  by  the  public.  Their  purse 
is  at  war  with  their  patriotism.  The  professional 
men  are  also  excluded,  for  they  are  employed  by  the 
privileged  interests,  while  the  press  is  influenced  or 
owned  by  the  same  classes. 

This  is  the  invisible  background  of  municipal 
politics;  it  is  the  policy  of  private  ownership  of  a 
public  function  that  divides  our  cities  into  classes 
and  makes  it  well-nigh  impossible  for  the  people  to 
unite  on  any  programme  of  city  improvement. 

1  The  Delineator,  vol.  LXXVI,  October,  1910. 


164  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Summary. 

The  public  sen-ice  corporations  for  the  supply  of 
water,  gas,  electricity,  and  transportation  are  largely 
responsible  for  the  corruption  of  our  cities.  Unlike 
Germany  and  England,  American  cities  have  gen- 
erally left  these  services  in  private  hands,  under 
franchises  granted  by  the  council.  These  grants  are 
of  great  value,  in  the  larger  cities  running  into  tens 
of  millions,  possibly  hundreds  of  millions,  of  dollars. 
The  grants  are  by  their  nature  exclusive  and,  because 
of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  effective  control, 
thdr  value  has  greatly  increased  in  recent  years. 

In  order  to  retain  this  monopoly,  as  well  as  rates 
and  charges,  these  corporations  are  lured  into  pol- 
itics; they  seek  to  control  parties,  to  elect  mayors, 
councilmen,  and  tax  officials,  and,  in  addition,  to 
control  the  press  and  the  agencies  of  public  opinion. 
An  inevitable  conflict  is  created  by  these  conditions, 
a  conflict  which  aligns  the  rich  and  powerful  mem- 
bers of  the  community  on  the  one  hand  and  unor- 
ganized democracy  on  the  other. 

This  has  been  the  experience  of  almost  every 
American  city  that  has  attempted  to  regulate  the 
public  service  corporation,  to  introduce  competition, 
or  to  bring  about  municipal  ownership.  Not  con- 
tent with  the  preservation  of  existing  privileges, 
these  corporations  have  thwarted  efforts  to  sim; 
charters,  to  secure  home  rule,  and  to  enlarge  the 
power  of  the  people  in  the  control  of  their  local 
affairs.  In  onlrr  to  do  this  tln-y  have  nitrrvil  State 
politics  for  the  further  protection  of  their  privileges 
and  have  sought  the  control  of  the  judiciary  as  well. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  AMERICA 

MUNICIPAL  ownership  is  the  alternative  to  private 
operation  under  a  grant  from  the  city.  As  we  use 
the  term  it  is  confined  to  the  street-railways,  gas, 
electric-light,  water,  and  telephone  services.  These 
enterprises  are  recognized  as  natural  monopolies; 
they  have  certain  features  in  common  which  dis- 
tinguish them  from  most  other  businesses. 

Mr.  Tom  L.  Johnson,  for  ten  years  Mayor  of 
Cleveland,  and  prior  to  his  election  one  of  the  largest 
street-railway  operators  in  America,  analyzes  these, 
features  as  follows.  He  says: 

"There  exists,  I  believe,  a  safe  rule  to  apply  as  a 
first  test  to  an  enterprise  in  order  to  determine 
whether  it  is  a  fit  subject  for  municipal  ownership. 
It  may  be  stated  as  follows: 

"No  enterprise  should  be  considered  a  subject 
for  municipal  ownership  unless  it  (1)  rests  upon  a 
public  grant  or  franchise,  bestowing  a  special  priv- 
ilege; (2)  is  of  such  a  nature  that  competition  can- 
not enter  with  benefit  to  the  people  at  large;  (3) 
requires  a  very  large  expenditure  of  capital  for  a 
plant  and  equipment;  and  (4)  contemplates  a  per- 
formance of  its  functions  for  a  long  period  of  time." 

Dangers  of  Political  Corruption. 

A  danger  frequently  urged  against  municipal 
ownership  is  that  of  corruption  and  an  increase  in 

165 


166  THE  MODERN  CITY 

the  power  of  the  political  machine.  Doctor  John 
R.  Commons,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  special  commission  of  the 
National  Civic  Federation  to  study  public  owner- 
ship, says  on  this  point: 

"Private  corporations  are  compelled  to  get  their 
franchises  and  all  privileges  of  doing  business  and 
all  terms  and  conditions  of  service  from  the  mu- 
nicipal authorities.  And  in  carrying  out  their  con- 
tract with  the  municipality  they  are  dealing  < 
tinually  with  municipal  officials.  Consequently  it 
is  absurd  to  assume  that  private  ownership  is  non- 
political.  It  is  just  as  much  a  political  question  to 
get  and  keep  honest  and  business-like  officials  who 
will  drive  good  bargains  with  private  corporations 
on  behalf  of  the  public  arid  then  see  that  the  bar- 
gains are  lived  up  to,  as  it  is  to  get  similar  officials 
^to  operate  a  municipal  plant.  We  do  not  escape 
'politics  by  resort  to  private  ownership — we  only 
get  a  different  kind  of  practical  politics." 

Mr.  Robert  G.  Monroe,  former  commissioner  of 
water-supply,  gas,  and  electricity,  under  the  Low 
administration  of  New  York,  says: 

"Neither  has  New  York's  municipal  water  sup- 
ply proved  a  political  menace.  Surely  today  it  is 
neither  a  pregnant  source  of  official  corruption  nor 
a  potent  adjunct  to  any  political  machine.  Under 
the  civil  service  laws  municipal  employees  are  prac- 
tically less  subject  to  political  control  than 
employees  of  the  average  public  service  corporation, 
which  is  constantly  compelled  to  make  and  give 
places  to  political  workers." 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  AMERICA    167 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  most  serious  criticism  of 
private  operation  is  the  political  activity  of  the 
public  service  corporations.  Not  only  is  this  the  chief 
cause  of  corruption  in  the  city,  but  the  employees 
of  the  private  corporations  are  quite  as  active  in 
city  politics  as  are  those  of  the  municipality  itself. 

Capitalization. 

An  investigation  of  public  ownership  by  the 
National  Civic  Federation  showed  the  extent  of 
overcapitalization  by  private  companies  as  com- 
pared with  municipal  plants.  The  outstanding  se- 
curities of  the  private  electric-lighting  companies 
in  1902  amounted  to  $271.51  per  kilowatt-hour  unit, 
while  the  capitalization  of  the  815  municipal  plants 
was  only  $111.89  per  kilowatt-hour  unit.  Much 
of  this  excess  capitalization  in  the  private  plants  is 
fictitious,  it  is  monopoly  or  franchise  value.  It  is 
a  capitalization  of  the  exclusive  grant  given  to  the 
company  by  the  community.  And  as  the  city 
grows  the  earning  power  of  the  company  responds 
to  its  growth.  This,  in  turn,  permits  still  further 
increase  in  capitalization  and  dividends.  Under 
municipal  ownership,  on  the  other  hand,  growth  in 
population,  with  the  consequent  increase  in  earning 
power,  permits  a  reduction  in  rates  or  improvements 
in  the  service.  The  social  value  is  returned  to  the 
community  itself. 

Similar  comparisons  of  private  and  public  water 
plants  would  disclose  the  same  overcapitalization 
of  the  former  as  would  a  study  of  gas  and  street- 
railway  companies. 


168  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Municipal  Water  Works. 

The  water-supply  has  been  generally  municipal- 
ized in  the  United  States.  An  investigation  by  the 
federal  government  in  1905  showed  that  113  of  the 
154  cities  of  over  30,000  inhabitants  owned  or 
operated  their  plants,  while  in  1912  of  a  total  of 
$839,205,681  invested  by  cities  in  business  under- 
takings $475,544,000  was  invested  in  water-works. 
Nearly  all  the  large  cities,  with  the  exception  of 
Indianapolis,  New  Haven,  Omaha,  Denver,  and 
San  Francisco,  own  their  water-supply,  and  within 
the  last  few  years  Omaha,  Denver,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco have  decided  to  either  take  over  the  existing 
companies  or  construct  their  own  plants.  There 
is  no  tendency  to  return  to  private  operation  in  any 
of  the  cities;  in  fact,  the  propriety  of  public  owner- 
ship in  this  field  is  rarely  disputed. 

Municipal  water  plants  generally  charge  lower 
rates  than  do  the  private  plants;  they  are  more 
permanently  constructed,  offer  better  fire  and  do- 
mestic service,  while  the  health  of  the  cities  owning 
their  plants  is  generally  better  than  where  the  pri- 
vate plants  obtain. 

Mr.  Robert  G.  Monroe  says  of  the  rates  and 
charges  of  the  New  York  water-supply: 

"Had  the  water  supply  been  in  private  hands, 
financed  upon  parallel  lines  and  similar  business 
methods  to  those  pursued  by  the  private  lighting 
monopoly,  the  citizens  of  New  York  would  be  pay- 
ing between  eighteen  and  twenty  million  dollars  ft 
year  for  water,  instead  of  between  five  and  five  and 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  AMERICA    169 

a  half  million,  the  annual  cost  under  public  owner- 
ship." 

One  of  the  most  ambitious  water-supplies  of  any 
city  is  that  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  which  city  is  con- 
structing a  240-mile  aqueduct  to  bring  the  supply 
to  the  city,  at  a  cost  of  $24,500,000.  The  mains 
skirt  130  miles  of  the  Mojave  Desert  and  will  irri- 
gate 135,000  acres  of  dry  land.  Practically  all  of 
the  work  has  been  done  by  the  city  itself,  by  the 
direct  employment  of  labor  under  the  direction  of 
competent  engineers.  The  water  power  will  be 
used  to  develop  an  electric-power  plant  estimated 
to  produce  120,000  horse-power,  to  be  delivered 
at  the  city  limits  for  domestic  and  business  uses. 
This  is  also  to  be  operated  by  the  city.  The  under- 
taking was  approved  by  a  referendum  vote  of  the 
citizens  in  1905. 
Electric  Lighting. 

Municipal  ownership  has  developed  rapidly  in 
the  field  of  electric  lighting.  In  1885  but  9.5  per 
cent,  of  the  electric  plants  were  under  municipal  con- 
trol, while  in  1906  24.4  per  cent,  were  publicly  owned. 

In  1902  there  were  815  municipally  owned  electric- 
lighting  stations  and  ten  years  later  there  were  1,562. 
In  the  former  year  the  income  was  $6,965,105,  and 
in  the  latter  $23,218,989,  or  an  increase  of  233.4 
per  cent.  During  the  same  period  the  horse-power 
generated  increased  by  249  per  cent.  The  total 
number  of  private  consumers  of  the  public  plants 
grew  in  the  same  time  by  347.4  per  cent. 

Among  the  large  cities  maintaining  plants  are 


170  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Chicago,  Detroit,  Cleveland,  Memphis,  Allegheny, 
Grand  Rapids,  Seattle,  and  Pasadena.  Cleveland 
has  recently  authorized  $2,000,000  in  bonds  for  the 
erection  of  an  electric-lighting  plant  in  connection 
with  its  water  station.  Prior  to  the  erection  of  the 
public  plant  in  Detroit  a  private  company  offered 
a  ten-year  contract  for  street  lighting  at  $12'J 
per  arc  light.  The  Detroit  commission  gives  the 
cost  of  municipal  operation,  including  taxes,  interest, 
and  depreciation,  at  $55.28  per  lamp. 

In  addition  to  water  and  electric-lighting  plants 
the  cities  of  New  York,  Baltimore,  Boston,  Philar 
delphia,  and  several  of  the  Pacific  coast  cities  have 
constructed  municipal  docks.  New  York  City  has 
invested  immense  sums  in  its  subways  and  main- 
tains ferries  connecting  the  boroughs.  Some  of  the 
smaller  towns  maintain  theatres.  .Gas  plants  are 
owned  by  a  number  of  cities,  while  public  garbage 
plants  are  maintained  by  a  few.  Cleveland,  Toledo, 
and  Detroit  have  been  prevented  from  entering  on 
the  ownership  of  the  street-railways  by  restrictions 
in  their  charters  and  the  limitations  on  their  borrow- 
ing powers.  In  each  of  these  cities  municipal  owner- 
ship will  probably  be  undertaken  at  no  distant  date. 
A  number  of  western  Canadian  cities  own  their 
street-railway  systems,  and  the  next  few  years  will 
undoubtedly  see  a  rapid  increase  in  this  field  of 
municipal  activity. 

San  Francisco  Street  Railways. 

San  Francisco  is  the  only  American  city  that  has 
ventured  into  the  field  of  municipal  ownership  of 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  AMERICA    171 

its  street-railway  system.  In  1913  it  opened  the 
Geaiy  Street  line,  with  over  seven  and  one  half 
miles  of  double  track.  The  same  year  $3,500,000 
was  voted  for  extensions.  When  the  present  con- 
struction work  is  completed  the  city  will  be  in  pos- 
session of  a  total  of  about  nineteen  miles  of  track. 
The  first  year's  operation  was  necessarily  experi- 
mental, but  it  showed  a  net  income,  over  and  above 
operating  expenses,  of  $153,000.  From  this  was  de- 
ducted the  interest  on  the  debt  and  taxes,  while 
$80,000  was  set  aside  for  depreciation  and  acci- 
dents. Describing  the  first  year's  experience  of  op- 
eration, a  writer  in  the  National  Municipal  Review 
says: 

"The  municipal  service  has  not  had  any  notice- 
able effect  in  eliminating  the  strap  hangers.  It  re- 
mains true  of  public  as  of  private  roads  that  the 
standing  passengers  pay  the  profits.  The  employees, 
however,  are  polite  and  accommodating,  and  there 
is  an  evident  effort  in  the  management  of  the  road 
to  suit  the  public  convenience.  The  men  appear 
well  content,  receiving  a  wage  of  three  dollars  a  day 
for  eight  hours  of  work.  The  rate  paid  on  the 
private  road  is  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  cents  an 
hour,  depending  on  length  of  service.  The  men  are 
selected  by  civil  service  examinations  and  hold  dur- 
ing good  behavior.  They  may,  however,  be  dis- 
missed without  trial.  Altogether,  the  people  of  San 
Francisco  are  well  pleased,  thus  far,  with  their  ex- 
periment in  municipal  ownership  of  street  railroads. 
It  has  not  proved  the  gold  mine  that  some  of  its 
overenthusiastic  promoters  promised.  But  it  has 
improved  service,  bettered  the  condition  of  the 


172  THE  MODERN  CITY 

working  force,  paid  its  way,  and  given  promise  of 
securing  the  extensions  that  could  not  be  secured 
under  the  regulations  imposed  on  private  owner- 
ship."1 

Regulation. 

Private  ownership  under  regulation  is  frequently 
urged  as  a  means  of  securing  the  advantages  of 
municipal  operation  without  the  attendant  evils, 
such  regulation  to  be  either  by  the  city  or  by  the 
State  public  service  commissionfi.  Experience  has 
shown,  however,  that  it  is  the  attempt  to  regulate 
that  lures  the  corporation  into  politics,  and  the 
more  complete  the  regulation  the  greater  the  effort 
to  control  either  the  city  or  the  commission.  In 
addition,  orders  when  made  are  not  obeyed.  They 
are  objected  to  at  hearings  and  when  finally  entered 
are  resisted  in  the  courts  on  the  ground  of  con- 
fiscation or  unreasonableness.  The  courts  are  filled 
with  cases  of  this  kind,  many  of  them  carried  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and,  even  if 
the  ruling  is  finally  upheld,  years  of  delay  are  se- 
cured during  which  time  the  prevailing  rates  and 
charges  are  maintained.  Moreover,  regulation  can 
deal  only  with  a  limited  number  of  questions,  and, 
most  important  of  all,  it  cannot  experiment.  And 
it  is  through  the  freedom  to  experiment  that  econ- 
omies and  efficiency  are  brought  about. 

The  conflict  of  motive  between  private  operation 
interested  in  profits  and  public  operation  interested 
in  service  cannot  be  harmonized  by  regulation  any 

» National  Municipal  Review,  July,  1914,  by  E.  A.  Waloott. 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  AMERICA    173 

more  than  by  competition.  This  is  the  experience 
of  European  cities  where  private  operation  under 
exacting  regulation  was  exhausted  before  the  policy 
of  ownership  was  entered  upon. 

Cleveland  Experience. 

The  city  of  Cleveland  has  had  prolonged  ex- 
perience in  the  effort  to  regulate  private  ownership 
of  the  street-railways.  For  nine  years  the  effort 
was  made  to  reduce  street-railway  fares  from  five 
to  three  cents.  Ordinances  were  passed  by  the 
council  which  were  immediately  carried  to  the 
courts,  where  they  were  delayed  for  years.  In  all, 
over  fifty  injunction  suits  were  filed  against  the 
city  and  a  score  of  elections  held  before  a  compro- 
mise was  reached  under  which  the  company  ac- 
cepted a  valuation  of  the  property  upon  which  divi- 
dends of  6  per  cent,  only  were  to  be  allowed.  Rates 
of  fare  were  fixed  first  at  three  cents,  with  the  right 
to  increase  them  if  this  did  not  produce  sufficient 
income.  The  settlement  was  finally  reached  in 
1910,  and  during  the  intervening  years  the  fare  has 
remained  at  the  initial  rate  agreed  upon,  three  cents, 
although  an  additional  charge  of  one  cent  for  a 
transfer  was  made  for  a  short  period.  As  a  result 
of  the  reduction  in  fare,  car  riders  have  been  saved 
$2,500,000  a  year.  Similar  reductions  in  fares  have 
been  made  in  Toledo  and  Detroit,  in  which  cities 
the  community  has  refused  to  renew  the  franchise 
on  any  terms,  preferring  to  wait  for  municipal 
ownership  rather  than  accept  any  terms  which  the 
company  has  offered. 


174  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Ethical  Gains  from  Ownership. 

The  most  important  gains  from  municipal  owner- 
ship are  not  financial  but  political  and  ethical. 
Through  ownership  the  city  will  be  freed  from  the 
conflict  of  interest  which  now  divorces  much  of  its 
talent  from  the  public  service.  This  conflict  remains 
even  under  regulation;  it  becomes  most  acute  when 
regulation  is  most  efficient.  Partisanship  is  kept 
alive  to  be  used  against  an  administration  which 
interferes  with  these  interests,  while  the  press  is 
subsidized  and  the  agencies  of  public  opinion  con- 
trolled to  maintain  the  invisible  powers  referred 
to  in  the  preceding  chapter.  And  this  conflict  can 
only  be  terminated  when  the  cause  of  it  is  removed 
and  the  city  itself  is  possessed  of  the  privileges  in 
whose  preservation  the  wealth  and  power  of  tin* 
city  is  interested.  Then  the  talent  of  the  city  will 
be  free  to  want  good  government.  Men  will  th<>n 
be  in  a  position  to  aspire  to  public  office  and  promote 
the  city's  well-being.  In  addition  the  city  will 
become  such  an  important  agency,  the  activities 
which  it  owns  will  be  of  such  transcendent  interest, 
that  men  of  power  will  desire  place  not  only  in 
administrative  positions  but  in  the  council  as  well. 
Further  than  this,  a  city  which  serves  its  citizens 
in  many  ways,  which  touches  their  lives  daily  and 
hourly,  will  awaken  interest  on  the  part  of  all 
classes.  There  will  be  an  economic  and  social 
nexus  between  the  voter  and  the  city  which  will 
supply  the  strongest  possible  motive  for  good  gov- 
ernment. 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  AMERICA    175 

Summary. 

Municipal  ownership  in  America  is  almost  limited 
to  water  and  electric-lighting  plants,  although  a 
number  of  cities  own  their  gas-plants.  Advocates 
of  municipal  ownership  claim  that  the  capitalization 
of  the  municipal  plants  is  lower  than  that  of  private 
plants  and  that  the  construction  work  is  generally 
more  permanent;  that  the  rates  and  charges  of  the 
public  plants  are  lower  than  those  of  the  private 
plants  and  that  the  water  service  is  better.  Nor 
has  municipal  ownership  led  to  the  creation  of  a  po- 
litical machine  among  municipal  employees;  rather, 
ownership  has  taken  these  services  out  of  politics. 

Nor  has  regulation  succeeded  in  eliminating  the 
evils  of  private  ownership.  In  many  cases  it  has 
intensified  them.  For  it  is  the  fear  of  regulation  in 
some  form  or  other  that  has  lured  the  public  service 
corporation  into  politics  and  led  to  the  corruption 
described  in  the  previous  chapter. 

The  most  important  gains  from  municipal  owner- 
ship are  in  the  field  of  politics.  Through  it  the  city 
is  freed  from  a  conflict  of  interest,  and  all  classes  of 
the  community  are  enabled  to  devote  themselves 
to  the  city's  welfare  and  the  non-partisan  promotion 
of  its  interests. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE 

MUNICIPAL  ownership  is  the  established  official 
policy  of  nearly  all  British  as  well  as  of  many 
German  cities.  In  Great  Britain  the  movement  is 
confined  to  street-railways,  gas,  water,  and  electric- 
lighting  enterprises,  the  telephone  properties  being 
owned  and  operated  by  the  national  government. 
In  Germany  municipal  ownership  has  no  set  limits. 
It  includes  not  only  the  natural  monopolies  but 
abattoirs,  markets,  docks,  mortgage  banks,  savings- 
banks,  pawnshops,  restaurants,  wine  handling,  and 
occasionally  insurance  and  baking.  Many  cities  in 
Italy  and  Austria  own  and  operate  the  public- 
utility  plants,  while  in  France  and  Belgium  the 
movement  is  just  in  its  beginning. 

Of  the  fifty  largest  cities  in  Great  Britain  and 
Germany  the  following  have  entered  on  the  policy 
of  municipal  ownership:1 


IN 
GBBAT  BBITAIN 

OWN  THEIB  Own 

IN 

GBBMANT 

39 

Water  supply 

48 

21 

.  .Gas  supply 

50 

44 

Electricity  SUDD!V 

42 

42 

Tramways 

23 

49 

Baths 

48 

44 

Markets 

60 

23 

..Slaughter-houses.. 

43 

1  Elaborate  reports  of  the  financial  operations  of  British  cities  wfll 
be  found  in  the  Municipal  Year  Book,  published  annually  (London), 
and  of  German  cities  in  the  Kommunalf*  Jahrbuch  (Berlin).  See 
also  Municipal  Life  and  Government  in  Germany,  by  W.  H.  DftWBoa. 

170 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     177 

Street-Railways—Early  Policy. 

The  cities  of  Great  Britain  experimented  with 
private  ownership  of  street-railways  prior  to  the 
adoption  of  the  policy  of  municipal  ownership. 
Under  the  Tramway  Act  of  1870,  which  was  the 
general  act  under  which  grants  were  made,  cities 
were  permitted  to  lay  the  tracks  but  could  not 
operate  the  roads.  Franchises  were  limited  to 
twenty-one  years,  with  the  provision  that  the  city 
could  take  over  the  property  at  the  expiration  of 
the  grant  upon  the  payment  of  the  structural  value. 

Under  this  act  nearly  all  of  the  large  cities  entered 
into  contracts  with  private  companies  which  oper- 
ated the  system  upon  tracks  laid  by  the  city,  the 
equipment  being  for  the  most  part  for  horse  traction. 

The  Beginning  of  Municipal  Ownership. 

The  success  of  electric  traction  in  America  and 
Germany  in  the  early  nineties  led  to  requests  on  the 
part  of  the  companies  for  permission  to  electrify 
their  lines,  while  the  cities  themselves  were  desirous 
of  better  service.  Coincident  with  this  movement 
there  were  numerous  controversies  over  wages,  hours 
of  labor,  and  conditions  of  employment,  while  the 
cities,  awakened  to  an  appreciation  of  the  profit- 
ableness of  the  industry,  took  action  looking  toward 
the  municipalization  of  the  undertakings  whose  fran- 
chises were  approaching  expiration. 

In  Glasgow  (present  population  1,150,000)  the 
controversy  between  the  company  and  the  men 
had  been  prolonged  and  bitter.  The  community 
sympathized  with  the  demands  of  the  employees, 


178  THE  MODERN  CITY 

who  were  alleged  to  be  overworked  and  underpaid. 
The  company,  however,  declined  to  arbitrate  the 
question  of  wages  or  hours  of  labor,  and  the  irrita- 
tion over  this  question  stimulated  the  demand  for 
ownership. 

The  question  was  agitated  for  several  yean,  and 
in  1VM  the  council  decided  to  retake  the  tracks 
which  it  had  laid  under  its  statutory  powers.  But 
the  company  refused  to  sell  its  equipment,  so  the 
city  had  to  purchase  equipment  elsewhere.  As  a 
consequence  of  this  action  the  company  ultimately 
lost  its  total  equipment  investment. 

With  the  advent  of  municipal  operation  fares 
were  reduced  33  per  cent,  below  those  previously 
prevailing,  while  the  length  of  the  hauls  was  in- 
creased. The  condition  of  the  employees  was  also 
improved.  Free  uniforms  were  added,  as  well  as 
five  days'  holiday  each  year. 

The  Growth  of  the  Movement 

The  success  of  Glasgow  stimulated  the  move- 
ment for  numiripal  operation  in  other  cities,  for 
the  discontent  with  private  operation  was  general 
Controversy  with  employees  was  a  common  causa 
of  trouble.  But  probably  the  main  operating  mo- 
tive was  the  desire  of  the  city  to  control  its  trans- 
portation system  and  derive  such  revenue  as  was 
possible  out  of  ownership.  For  local  taxes  in  Great 
Britain  are  very  heavy.  And  the  business  men  and 
citizens  saw  in  municipal  ownership  a  means  for 
relieving  the  rates.  In  addition,  cities  were  con- 
sidering the  installation  of  electric-lighting  plants, 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     179 

and  it  was  seen  that  power  stations  could,  with 
economy,  be  constructed  which  could  be  used  for 
lighting  as  well  as  for  the  operation  of  the  street- 
railway  plants.  And  this  has  quite  commonly  been 
done.  A  uniform  load  is  possible  by  this  arrange- 
ment, the  day  load  being  used  for  the  operation 
of  the  tramways  and  power  and  the  night  load  for 
the  lighting  of  the  city. 

Tramway  Construction  and  Service. 

The  street-railways  in  Great  Britain  are  con- 
structed with  much  more  permanence  than  they  are 
in  America.  This  is  true  of  private  as  well  as 
public  undertakings.  The  girder  groove  rail  is  uni- 
versally used.  Tracks  are  heavily  ballasted,  while 
the  overhead  work  is  very  substantial.  Many  of 
the  towns  have  erected  splendid  shops  in  which 
they  both  build  and  repair  their  cars.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  high  standard  of  construction  the 
capital  outlay  has  been  very  heavy.  In  1906  the 
cost  of  the  Glasgow  system  was  $93,305  per  mile  of 
single  track  and  in  Liverpool  $90,536.  The  Lon- 
don County  Council  reports  a  cost  of  $106,033  per 
mile.  It  is  believed  that  the  construction  cost  in 
the  British  cities  exceeds  that  of  the  average  Amer- 
ican city  (outside  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Bos- 
ton, Chicago,  and  Washington)  by  approximately 
50  per  cent. 

Aside  from  the  large  investment  in  capital  ac- 
count, there  are  many  provisions  for  the  comfort 
and  convenience  of  the  people.  For  the  street-rail- 
way is  under  constant  supervision;  it  touches 


180  THE  MODERN  CITY 

every  citizen  daily.  It  is  more  difficult  to  disguise 
bad  service  in  street-railway  operation  than  in  any 
other  public  utility.  Accidents  are  of  rare  occur- 
rence. They  have  been  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
The  same  solicitude  is  manifested  in  the  care  of  the 
cars.  They  are  kept  fresh  with  paint  and  are 
washed  daily.  In  Glasgow  and  many  other  cities 
all  advertisements  have  been  excluded. 

Employees  are  courteous  and  seem  animated  by 
a  sense  of  service  to  the  community,  and  because 
of  the  surveillance  of  the  public  they  are  of  neces- 
sity considerate  to  the  riders.  Council  committees 
are  on  the  alert  to  better  conditions  and  to  adopt 
new  devices.  There  is  keen  rivalry  between  dif- 
ferent cities,  each  of  which  takes  peculiar  pridr 
its  enterprises,  the  equipment  and  the  service  ren- 
1,  as  well  as  the  annual  balance-sheet. 

The  zone  system  of  fares  is  universal  in  Great 
Britain  as  it  was  under  private  management.  In 
a  sense  travel  is  metered,  just  as  is  gas,  water,  and 
electricity.  Upon  each  zone  a  fare  of  from  one  to 
two  cents  is  collected,  depending  upon  the  length 
of  the  ride.  There  seems  to  be  no  protest  what< 
against  this  system,  which  leads  to  a  very  great 
stimulus  of  short-haul  riders. 

Motives  of  Operation. 

Four  motives  animate  the  councils  in  the  opera- 
tion of  the  street-railway  system.  They  are:  first, 
the  best  possible  service  at  the  minimum  cost; 
second,  the  relief  of  the  taxpayers  by  more  or  less 
substantial  contributions  to  the  city  budget;  third, 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     181 

the  widening  of  the  boundaries  of  the  city  and  the 
improvement  of  housing  conditions  by  opening  up 
the  countryside;  and,  fourth,  the  improvement  in 
the  condition  of  the  employees. 

There  is  constant  pressure  to  reduce  the  fares 
and  extend  the  zones;  but  the  prevailing  tendency 
of  councils  is  to  utilize  the  surplus  earnings  for  the 
reduction  of  the  debt  and  the  repayment  of  the  loans. 
Despite  this  fact,  rates  of  fare  are  lower  than  under 
private  management  and  very  much  lower  than 
they  are  in  the  United  States.  For  instance,  in 
Glasgow  there  is  a  one-cent  fare  for  short  distances 
of  about  half  a  mile,  and  in  1912  43.98  per  cent,  of 
the  passengers  paid  but  a  one-cent  fare.  The  num- 
ber paying  2  cents  formed  37.85  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number,  while  the  percentage  paying  3  cents 
was  7.38.  In  that  year  over  80  per  cent,  of  all  the 
passengers  paid  2  cents  or  less. 

The  one-cent  fare  encourages  traffic  in  the  centre 
of  the  city  and  is  a  great  convenience.  It  stim- 
ulates travel  when  traffic  is  light. 

The  average  fare  paid  by  all  passengers  in  Glas- 
gow in  1912  was  1.72  cents;  in  Manchester  (popula- 
tion 950,000),  2.32  cents;  in  Liverpool  (population 
816,000),  2.24  cents;  and  in  Sheffield  (population 
455,800),  1.8  cents. 

The  average  fare  paid  on  all  of  the  136  tramways 
operated  by  local  authorities  in  1910  was  2.1  cents, 
as  opposed  to  an  average  of  2.48  cents  paid  on  the 
138  private  companies.  In  1911  the  total  receipts 
in  Glasgow  were  $4,748,740.  At  the  prevailing 


182  THE  MODERN  CITY 

5-cent  fare  charged  in  America  the  passengers  would 
have  paid  $11,898,365. 
Financial  Operations. 

The  total  capital  investment  of  the  136  local 
authorities  operating  street-railways,  which  included 
nearly  every  large  city  in  the  United  Kingdom,  was, 
in  1910,  $220,541,250.  The  gross  receipts  for  the 
year  amounted  to  $47,437,170,  against  which  were 
charged  operating  expenses  of  $29,436,216,  leaving 
a  net  revenue  of  $18,000,955.  The  percentage  of 
net  earnings  to  capital  invested  was  8H  per  cent. 
The  publicly  owned  lines  were  operated  at  a  lower 
ratio  of  cost  than  the  private  companies,  despite 
the  higher  wages  paid,  the  shorter  hours,  and  bet- 
ter conditions  of  employment.  Working  expense  of 
the  local  authorities  to  the  gross  income  was  62.05 
per  cent,  as  against  62.52  per  cent,  for  the  private 
companies.  At  the  same  time,  while  the  cities 
earned  8)4  per  cent,  on  their  investment,  the  pri- 
vate companies  earned  but  4^  per  cent. 

The  public  undertakings  are  under  strict  par- 
liamentary supervision.  They  are  required  by  law 
to  amortize  their  debt  by  annual  contributions  to 
the  sinking-fund.  In  1910  $5,893,875  of  the  gross 
earnings  of  all  public  plants  was  used  for  this  pur- 

posi*.      In   a<l<liti'>n.  th-«   municipal   plant-   pay  lavs 

the  same  as  the  private  companies,  so  that  public 
and  private  operation  is  on  a  parity  in  all  com- 
parisons of  earnings. 

Aside  from  four  small  communities  showing  a 
deficit,  which  in  1910  amounted  in  the 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     183 

to  but  $15,000,  most  of  the  companies  made  very 
substantial  contributions  to  taxation.  The  tram- 
ways of  Manchester  contributed  $364,987  to  the  re- 
lief of  taxes;  of  Leeds,  $275,000;  of  Birmingham, 
$160,000;  of  Liverpool,  $135,000;  of  Nottingham 
and  of  Bradford,  $100,000.  In  Glasgow  the  net 
profits,  which  amounted  to  $265,000,  are  paid  into 
a  special  fund,  known  as  the  Common  Good. 

In  1910  the  total  contributions  of  the  public 
tramways  to  the  relief  of  taxation  were  $2,200,565. 
In  addition,  there  was  a  gain  to  the  public  of  $7,- 
989,434  in  the  difference  between  the  average  fares 
charged  by  the  publicly  owned  tramways  and  the 
average  fares  of  the  private  companies. 

There  is  no  question  about  the  financial  success 
of  public  operation.  The  indebtedness  of  the  cities 
is  being  rapidly  amortized.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  amortization  charge  provided  by  law,  cities 
make  very  substantial  contributions  to  depreciation 
and  reserve.  For  instance,  Glasgow  in  1910  repaid 
its  debt  to  the  extent  of  $448,470  and  added  $1,102,- 
895  to  the  depreciation  and  reserve.  The  sum  con- 
tributed to  depreciation  and  reserve,  in  addition  to 
debt  repayment,  by  Manchester  was  $375,000;  by 
Liverpool,  $427,555;  and  by  Sheffield,  $106,980. 
These  statistics  are  authoritative.  Municipal  au- 
thorities are  required  to  keep  their  accounts  accord- 
ing to  standards  fixed  by  the  local  government 
board.  Annual  returns  are  required  to  be  made 
to  the  board  of  trade,  while  the  reports  are  pub- 
lished each  year  and  are  subject  to  scrutiny.  The 


184  THE  MODERN  CITY 

books  of  the  municipality  are  also  audited  by  the 
central  authorities,  in  order  to  make  sure  that  all 
requirements  as  to  debt  repayment,  depreciation, 
and  reserve  are  properly  provided  for.1 

Service. 

Overcrowding  is  specifically  prohibited,  and  rarely 
is  it  necessary  to  stand.  In  Liverpool  68  per  c« 
additional  cars  are  added  during  the  rush  hours. 
In  Leeds  the  service  is  increased  by  30  per  cent,  in 
the  morning,  at  noon,  and  in  the  evening.  In  some 
cities  standing  is  prohibited. 

Many  cities,  too,  reduce  their  fares  for  working 
men  in  the  morning  and  evening.    In  Manchester  the 

3  and  4  cent  fares  are  reduced  to  2  cents,  the  5  and  6 
cent  fares  to  3  cents,  and  the  7  and  8  cent  fares  to 

4  cents.    In  Leeds  four-mile  tickets  are  sold  for  2 
cents.    The  purpose  of  these  rules  is  to  encourage 
working  men  to  live  in  the  country  and  to  still  fur- 
ther adjust  the  tramway  service  to  the  needs  of  the 

.ing  classes. 

As  indicative  of  the  experiments  made  by  British 
cities  is  the  instance  of  Bradford,  which  carries  on 
a  municipal  express  and  delivery  service  all  < 
the  city.  This  service  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  par- 
cel post.  Stamps  are  sold,  which  are  affixed  to 
parcels  in  the  centre  of  the  city.  They  are  then 
loaded  on  the  street-cars  to  be  delivered  to  the 
various  sub-stations  for  distribution  throughout  the 


1  Further  details  of  rarious  cities  may  be  secured  from  Tkt  Mu- 
nicipal Y«tr  Book,  London,  which  gives  complete  statistics  of  all  the 
local  authorities  in  Great  Britain. 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     185 

city.  At  the  terminals  of  each  route  a  uniformed 
agent  collects  and  delivers  the  parcels.  Rates  of 
charges  are  as  follows:  for  packages  up  to  7  pounds, 
4  cents;  from  7  to  14  pounds,  6  cents;  from  14  to 
28  pounds,  8  cents;  and  from  28  to  56  pounds,  10 
cents.  The  entire  investment  in  the  parcels-de- 
livery system  is  but  $17,033,  which  includes  the 
cost  of  five  motor  vans.  The  total  cost  of  this 
service  in  1910  was  $31,284,  and  the  receipts  were 
$39,757.  During  the  year  675,719  packages  were 
carried,  at  great  economy  to  the  merchants  and 
citizens.  Many  of  the  shopkeepers  have  been  en- 
abled to  dispense  with  their  delivery  service,  while 
the  congestion  of  the  streets  is  greatly  reduced,  as 
is  the  unnecessary  waste  involved  in  countless  de- 
livery wagons  traversing  the  same  routes. 

Other  Gains  from  Municipal  Ownership. 

There  is  little  sentiment  for  a  return  to  private 
operation  from  any  class.  The  financial  gains  are 
too  obvious.  The  service  is  undeniably  better  on 
the  public  tramways  than  on  the  private  ones,  while 
rates  of  fare  are  lower  and  the  condition  of  the  em- 
ployees is  better.  Membership  on  the  tramways 
council  committee  is  sought  after  as  a  high  honor 
because  of  the  opportunities  for  service  involved. 
Cities,  too,  are  eager  to  introduce  new  devices  and 
new  comforts,  and  representatives  are  constantly 
studying  the  service  of  other  countries.  There  has 
been  a  steady  improvement  in  cars,  a  constant  ef- 
fort to  better  the  service  and  consider  the  well- 
being  of  the  community. 


186  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  double-decker  type  of  car  is  universal  and  is 
very  popular.  The  upper  deck  is  so  arranged  that 
it  can  be  closed  in  winter.  Smoking  is  permitted 
on  the  upper  deck,  which  is  used  by  all  classes  for 
pleasure  riding.  The  double  deck  also  increases 
the  seating  capacit 

In  addition,  there  has  been  no  serious  trouble 
between  the  city  and  its  employees  such  as  pre- 
vailed under  private  operation.  The  city  adjusts 
differences  through  the  council  committee  or  by 
arbitration.  But  controversies  of  this  kind  have 
been  very  rare,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  city  pays 
a  higher  rate  of  wage  than  prevails  in  other  indus- 
tries; it  supplies  the  men  with  free  uniforms;  it  al- 
lows, generally,  a  week's  holiday  on  full  pay,  and 
otherwise  concerns  itself  for  the  well-being  of  its 
employees.  As  a  consequence  of  this  a  fine  esprit 
de  corps  has  arisen  among  the  employees.  They 
seem  to  take  great  pride  in  their  jobs  and  are  ear- 
nestly tealous  in  their  effort  to  serve  the  com- 
munity. 

The  Electricity  Supply. 

Electric-lighting  plants  are  very  generally  owned 
by  the  British  cities.  The  introduction  of  eleo- 
:ty  was  delayed  in  Great  Britain  until  after  it 
had  obtained  a  foothold  in  America,  and  cities 
refused  to  grant  franchises  to  private  companies 
until  the  success  of  electric  lighting  was  assured. 
The  introduction  of  electricity  was  generally  c< 
cident  with  the  municipaliiation  of  the  tramways. 
The  statistics  of  the  Municipal  Year  Book  indicate 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     187 

that  the  rates  and  charges  of  municipal  companies 
are  considerably  lower  than  those  of  the  private 
companies. 

The  Gas  Supply. 

The  gas  has  not  been  so  generally  municipalized 
as  either  the  street-railway  or  the  electricity  supply. 
Gas  was  introduced  many  years  ago  by  private 
companies  which  were  given  long-term,  indeter- 
minate grants,  so  that  when  the  city  comes  to  ac- 
quire them  it  has  to  pay  a  substantial  sum  for  the 
franchise.  This,  along  with  the  idea  that  elec- 
tricity would  eventually  supplant  gas,  has  checked 
the  municipalization  of  the  supply. 

The  returns  of  local  authorities  and  private  com- 
panies for  the  year  1911  show  that  298  plants  are 
owned  by  municipal  authorities  and  511  by  private 
companies.  The  public  authorities  supply  2,666,146 
consumers  and  the  private  companies  3,751,703. 
The  local  authorities  earn  9%  per  cent,  upon  the 
capital  invested  and  the  private  companies  5^  per 
cent.,  showing  that  the  cities  are  good  business 
managers.  The  net  revenues  of  the  public  com- 
panies were  $14,636,535,  which  was  used  to  pay  in- 
terest upon  the  investment,  for  the  reduction  of  the 
debt  and  the  relief  of  the  taxpayers. 

Charges  for  Gas. 

The  price  of  gas  is  much  lower  hi  Great  Britain 
than  it  is  in  the  United  States.  The  returns  for  1911 
show  that  the  average  charge  for  gas  per  1,000  cubic 
feet  by  the  municipalities  was  60  cents,  as  opposed 
to  66  cents  by  the  private  companies.  In  Binning- 


188  THE  MODERN  CITY 

ham  rates  are  from  42  to  56  cents  per  1,000  feet;  in 
Bradford,  Burnley,  Halifax,  and  Rochedale,  50 
cents;  in  Manchester,  from  58  to  60  cents;  and  in 
Oldham,  46  cents. 

Through  ownership  the  cities  are  able  to  exper- 
iment in  a  variety  of  ways.  They  light  the  streets 
very  generously.  It  is  a  common  saying  in  Great 
Britain  that  a  lamp-post  is  as  good  as  a  police- 
man. Tenement  districts,  slums,  and  alleyways  are 
lighted  as  a  preventive  of  vice  and  crime.  Cities 
also  encourage  the  use  of  gas  by  providing  cooking- 
stoves  at  a  low  rental  or  at  cost.  Among  the  very 
poor  penny-in-the-slot  meters  are  installed  by  which 
th"  consumer  can  buy  two  cents'  worth  of  gas  by 
tin*  insertion  of  a  coin  in  the  meter. 

The  municipal  gas  plants  earn  large  sums  for  the 
repayment  of  loans  and  the  reduction  of  taxes. 
The  total  contributions  to  the  relief  of  city  taxes 
amount  to  more  than  $2,000,000  a  year. 
German  Municipal  Socialism. 

German  cities  engage  in  a  great  variety  of  activ- 
ities of  social  betterment.  This  is  due  to  several 
causes.  In  the  first  place,  the  laissez-faire  philos- 
ophy of  Great  Britain  and  America  has  never  made 
much  headway  in  Germany.  On  the  contrary,  the 
idea  of  state  and  municipal  ownership  is  accepted 
by  all  classes  as  a  perfectly  natural  thing.  Both  the 
nation  and  the  cities  have  owned  many  things  from 
early  times.  The  steam-railways,  telegraph,  and 

plume  services  are  owned  and  operated  by 
individual  states.    The  states  and  cities  are  also 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     189 

great  land  owners.  Some  of  the  states  own  mines 
and  operate  them  at  a  profit.  A  large  part  of  the 
revenues  of  Prussia  is  derived  from  profit-making 
enterprises. 

In  the  second  place,  the  military  organization  of 
Germany  leads  to  constant  interference  with  the 
lives  of  the  citizens,  which  interference  has  been 
greatly  extended  in  recent  years  as  a  means  of  pro- 
tecting the  health,  lives,  and  efficiency  of  the  people. 
Finally,  the  cities  are  free  to  do  anything  necessary 
for  the  welfare  of  the  people.  They  have  home 
rule  and  can  own  and  operate,  regulate  and  control 
individual  property  with  almost  as  much  freedom 
as  the  state  itself. 

This  is  the  background  of  the  German  city  upon 
which  a  social  programme  has  been  reared  that  has 
made  it  the  model  of  the  modern  world.  To  this 
must  be  added  the  fact  that  the  city  is  governed  by 
experts  trained  in  the  universities  and  technical 
schools.  It  has  at  its  command  the  trained  men 
of  the  empire  in  finance,  education,  sanitation, 
housing,  taxation,  and  administration,  as  well  as 
the  co-operation  of  the  interior  department,  the 
universities,  and  the  technical  schools.  The  Ger- 
man city  is  more  adequately  equipped  with  expert 
assistants  than  is  any  private  corporation. 

German  cities  adopted  ownership  after  a  thorough 
test  of  private  operation.  Franchises  for  street- 
railways  were  originally  granted  for  from  twenty- 
five  to  forty  years,  but  the  service  was  not  satis- 
factory and  the  equipment  was  not  kept  up  to  a 


190  THE  MODERN  CITY 

high  standard  of  efficiency.  In  addition,  the  hous- 
ing problem  was  very  acute  and  means  had  to  be 
found  to  remove  the  population  from  the  old  con- 
gested quarters  of  the  city.  This  could  only  be 
done  through  adequate  transportation  facilities,  and 
the  companies  were  unwilling  to  extend  their  lines 
out  into  the  non-profitable  suburbs.  Further  than 
this,  German  cities  have  worked  out  comprehensive 
planning  projects  in  which  transportation  is  an 
integral  part.  It  was  necessary  to  control  the 
means  of  transit  in  order  to  project  industries  out 
into  the  surrounding  country,  to  provide  homes, 
and  to  co-ordinate  all  of  the  planning  projects  of 
the  community. 

The  zone  system  of  street-railway  fares  prevails 
in  Germany  as  in  Great  Britain,  the  average  rate 
of  fare  being  2H  cents,  which  includes  the  right 
of  transfer.  Many  devices  have  been  adopted  for 
improving  the  service.  One  finds  maps  within  the 
cars  on  which  are  indicators  showing  the  car's  des- 
tination. Attractive  waiting-rooms  are  erected  to 
accommodate  the  passengers  in  inclement  weather. 
Rates  are  frequently  reduced  mornings  and  evenings 
for  working  men,  and  also  for  children. 

Cities  also  own  the  water,  gas,  and  elect  r 
supplies,  which,  like  the  street-railways,  are  operated 
with  the  aim  of  rendering  the  greatest  amount  of 
service  to  the  community  at  the  minimum  cost. 

Docks  and  Harbors. 

Cities  also  own  their  water-fronts  and  develop 
thrm  with  splendidly  equipped  harbors.  The  docks 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     191 

are  connected  with  the  state-owned  railroads;  they 
are  designed  by  experts  and  are  consciously  used 
to  promote  the  industrial  development  of  towns  and 
the  commerce  of  the  empire.  Immense  sums  have 
been  spent  on  municipal  docks,  those  along  the 
Rhine  and  the  North  Sea  being  probably  the  most, 
perfectly  appointed  harbors  in  the  world.  Diissel- 
dorf,  a  city  of  356,000  people,  has  erected  a  great 
harbor  along  the  Rhine  at  a  cost  of  $4,500,000.  The 
building  of  this  dock  increased  the  city  traffic  by 
300  per  cent,  in  ten  years'  time.  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main,  a  city  of  only  414,000  people,  two  thirds  of 
the  size  of  Cleveland,  has  set  aside  $18,000,000  for 
the  dredging  of  the  river,  the  building  of  a  great 
inland  harbor,  and  the  development  of  a  new  indus- 
trial section.  In  anticipation  of  the  harbor  the 
city  purchased  1,180  acres  of  agricultural  land, 
which  it  planned  as  a  complete  industrial  section, 
with  provision  for  rail  and  water  transportation, 
with  sites  for  all  sorts  of  factories,  and  with  a  park 
and  playground  for  the  working  people.  In  addi- 
tion it  laid  out  a  suburb  close  by  the  new  industrial 
section  for  working  men's  dwellings,  some  of  which 
have  been  erected  by  the  city  and  some  by  private 
enterprise.  By  this  means  Frankfort  expects  to 
become  a  great  inland  industrial  centre,  inasmuch  as 
it  can  offer  the  best  of  factory  sites  at  a  low  price 
to  capital.  This  is  one  of  the  ways  German  cities 
promote  their  growth.  And  Frankfort  expects  to 
pay  for  the  entire  expenditure  out  of  the  increased 
value  of  the  land  by  selling  and  leasing  the  land  to 


192  THE  MODERN  CITY 

industries  at  prices  which  will  ultimately  relieve  the 
city  of  indebtedness. 

Other  activities  of  the  German  city  will  be  de- 
scribed in  a  subsequent  chapter:  "The  City  as  a 
Social  Agency." 
Summary. 

Municipal  ownership  of  the  public  service  cor- 
porations is  the  established  policy  of  the  cities  of 
Great  Britain  and  Germany  and  to  some  extent  of 
those  of  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Austria-Hungary.  ' 
1 1  has  made  only  a  beginning  in  France  and  Belgium. 

Almost  all  of  the  cities  of  Great  Britain  own  the 
street-railway,  electric-lighting  and  water  supplies, 
while  a  large  number  own  the  gas  supply.  The 
great  majority  of  the  German  cities  own  their  gas 
and  water  supply  and  a  large  number  the  electric 
and  tramway  services. 

Public  ownership  was  promoted  by  the  same 
causes  in  both  countries.  Officials  saw  in  these 
services  an  opportunity  to  make  money  and  thus 
reduce  the  rates  and  taxes.  In  addition,  the  corpora- 
tions  rendered  unsatisfactory  service  and  wcrv  un- 
willing to  meet  the  growing  needs  of  the  communi 
This  was  especially  true  of  the  street-railway  com- 
panies, whose  public  ownership  and  control  was  an 
integral  part  of  the  housing  and  town-planning  policy 
of  the  more  progressive  cities. 

From  a  financial  point  of  view  municipal  owner- 
ship is  a  proved  success  in  both  countries  although 
the  services  are  rendered  at  low  cost.  Street-rail- 
way fares  average  about  one  half  what  they  are  in 
the  United  States,  while  the  price  of  gas  is  from 
one  half  to  two  thirds  that  charged  in  this  country. 
Cities  have  shown  initiative  in  the  introduction  of 
new  devices  and  the  improvement  of  the 


MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP  IN  EUROPE     193 

This  is  particularly  true  in  the  street-railways,  which 
are  permanently  built  and  equipped  with  comfortable 
and  beautiful  cars.  Reduced  working  men's  fares  are 
provided  by  many  cities  in  the  morning  and  evening, 
as  well  as  to  aid  in  the  distribution  of  population 
out  into  the  countryside.  In  none  of  the  countries 
that  have  municipalized  these  activities  is  there  any 
sentiment  for  a  return  to  private  operation. 


CHAPTER  XV 
CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA 

THE  American  city  has  been  inadequately  planned. 
With  the  exception  of  Washington,  there  has  been 
no  realization  of  the  permanence  of  the  city,  of  the 
importance  of  streets  and  open  spaces,  of  building 
regulations,  transportation,  water-fronts,  and  the 
physical  foundations  which  underlie  the  city's  life. 
The  Importance  of  Streets. 

New  allotments  and  their  intersecting  streets 
have  generally  been  planned  by  land  speculators  in- 
terested only  in  the  sale  of  their  property.  They 
should  have  been  laid  out  by  the  city  as  part  of  a 
comprehensive  plan.  This,  in  many  cases,  is  an  ir- 
reparable injury,  for  streets  control  the  city  as  does 
nothing  else.  They  make  or  mar  its  appearance. 
They  determine  its  comfort  and  convenience.  They 
form  its  circulatory  system.  Proper  street  planning 
is  the  first  essential  to  a  city  plan. 

I  the  irregular,  crooked  streets  of  Boston  that 
lend  pictureaqueness  to  that  city.  Washington  is 
dignified  and  commanding  because  of  the  carefully 
studied  combination  of  streets  and  avenues,  with  a 
large  number  of  parks  and  open  spaces.  New  York 
is  saved  from  the  commonplace  by  Broadway,  which 
cute  diagonally  across  Manhattan  Island  and  ex* 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  195 

pands  at  intervals  into  Union,  Madison,  and  Long- 
acre  Squares.  The  historic  streets  of  Europe — the 
Strand,  Fleet  and  Regent  Streets  in  London,  the 
boulevards  in  Paris,  the  Ringstrassen  in  Vienna  and 
Cologne,  Unter  den  Linden  in  Berlin,  the  embank- 
ments in  Budapest — are  suggestive  of  the  extent  to 
which  the  city  is  dependent  upon  its  streets.  They 
are  the  commanding  features  of  its  life. 

Street  Planning. 

William  Perm  was  in  a  sense  responsible  for  the 
street  arrangement  of  the  American  city.  In  laying 
out  Philadelphia  he  adopted  what  is  known  as  the 
gridiron  plan,  that  is,  a  series  of  rectangular  streets, 
equal  distances  apart,  with  no  radial  thoroughfares. 
This  arrangement  satisfies  landowners,  who  get  the 
maximum  use  of  their  land,  but  it  has  little  else 
to  commend  it.  It  is  not  adjusted  to  circulation 
or  to  business,  while  traffic  has  to  zigzag  across  the 
city  at  great  loss  of  time.  Nor  does  it  offer  any 
centres  or  commanding  sites  for  buildings;  there 
are  no  fine  vistas,  only  a  series  of  uniform  streets. 
This  type  of  street  plan  has  been  copied  by  almost 
all  of  our  cities  with  the  exception  of  those  of  the 
East. 

Cities  are  now  finding  it  necessary  to  cut  new 
streets  through  the  business  districts  to  relieve  the 
congestion  of  this  rectangular  plan.  Chicago  is 
discussing  the  opening  of  radial  boulevards  through 
the  existing  street  plan,  while  Boston  has  spent 
millions  to  open  up  new  streets  in  the  old  part  of 
the  city.  Philadelphia  is  planning  a  wide  parkway 


196  THE  MODERN  CITY 

from  the  city  hall  to  Fairmount  Park,  and  Baltimore 
is  projecting  a  boulevard  from  the  outskirts  to  the 
centre  of  the  city.  All  of  these  costs  would  1: 
been  saved  had  the  city  been  intelligently  planned 
in  the  beginning,  as  was  Washington,  whose  streets 
were  laid  out  by  an  expert  engineer  before  a  single 
house  was  erected.  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  and  Mil- 
waukee, and  a  few  Western  cities,  were  saved  from 
tli"  worst  features  of  the  gridiron  plan  by  radial 
thoroughfares,  like  the  ribs  of  a  fan,  which  run  out 
from  the  city  centre. 
New  York  Plan. 

It  is  said  that  New  York  was  planned  in  1807  by 
laying  a  mason's  hand  sieve  across  the  map  of  the 
island,  Broadway  being  left  undisturbed.  It  was 
assumed  that  lines  of  traffic  would  always  be  from 
river  to  river  rather  than  north  and  south.  East 
and  west  streets  hcrefore  placed  close  to- 

gether, being  only  200  feet  apart,  while  the  n< 
and  south  avenues  are  from  700  to  900  feet  apart. 
As  th<  city  grew  the  lines  of  traffic  changed,  and 
to-day  New  York  suffers  from  inadequate  north 
and  south  avenues.  The  traffic  necessities  are  al- 
ready so  great  that  immense  sums  are  being  spent 
to  relieve  the  mistakes  of  the  early  plans.  It  has 
become  necessary  to  open  up  the  lower  end 
Seventh  Avenue  in  order  to  secure  another  entrance 
to  the  down-town  districts,  while  plans  have  been 
suggested  for  a  new  avenue  to  be  cut,  at  tremen- 
dous cost,  from  the  Pennsylvania  Station  to  the 
Grand  Central  Station,  as  well  as  a  north  and  south 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  197 

avenue  between  Fifth  and  Sixth  Avenues.  In  ad- 
dition, by  reason  of  the  rectangular  street  arrange- 
ment, there  is  scarcely  a  commanding  site  for  a 
public  building  on  the  island. 

Speaking  of  the  result  of  the  work  of  the  New  York 
Planning  Commission  of  1807,  Mr.  Frederick  L. 
Olmsted  said:  "Ever  since,  if  a  building  site  is 
wanted,  there  is,  of  intention,  no  better  place  in 
one  of  these  blocks  than  in  another.  There  is  no 
place  in  New  York  where  a  stately  building  can  be 
looked  up  to  from  base  to  turret,  none  where  it  can 
even  be  seen  full  in  the  face  and  all  at  once  taken  in 
by  the  eye;  none  where  it  can  be  viewed  in  advan- 
tageous perspective.  Such  distinctive  advantage  of 
position  as  Rome  gives  Saint  Peter's,  London  Saint 
Paul's,  New  York,  under  her  system,  gives  to 
nothing."  l 

The  Plumbing  of  the  City. 

Transportation,  gas,  water,  and  electric  light  and 
power  are  as  necessary  to  the  modern  city  as  is  the 
plumbing  of  a  house  or  the  elevators  of  an  office 
building.  J  Transit  controls  the  distribution  of  pop- 
ulation. It  decrees  whether  people  shall  live  in 
tenements,  as  in  New  York  and  Chicago,  or  in 
suburbs,  like  those  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia. 
Transit,  too,  establishes  the  area  and  circumference 
of  the  city.  It  profoundly  influences  the  health 
and  well-being  of  the  community.  It  has  a  direct 
connection  with  vice  and  crime.  When  we  study 
the  pathology  of  the  city  we  will  see  that  its  dis- 

1  Town  Planning,  Past,  Present  and  Possible,  H.  Inigo  Triggs,  p.  97, 


198  THE  MODERN  CITY 

'eases  are  intimately  connected  with  our  failure  to 
properly  provide  for  transit,  for  municipal  diseases 
are  largely  due  to  the  inadequacy  of  this  service. 

Water,  gas,  and  electricity  are  the  other  vital 
organs  of  the  community,  and  they,  like  the  street- 
railways,  have  generally  been  left  in  private  hands. 
And  private  individuals  decide  for  us  not  only  the 
prices  we  shall  pay  for  these  services  but  the  com- 
forts and  conveniences  dependent  upon  them. 

The  License  of  Builders. 

Private  builders  have  also  been  permitted  to  do  as 
they  wished  with  their  property.  There  has  been 
litt Id  control  of  the  amount  of  land  that  might  be 
built  upon,  of  the  height  of  buildings,  of  the  style  of 
tenements,  of  the  materials  used  in  construction. 
There  is  no  uniform  sky-line.  Terrible  catastrophes, 
likr  the  Triangle  fire  in  New  York,  have  resulted 
from  our  failure  to  control  this  side  of  the  city's 
building.  Nor  is  there  any  attempt  to  determine 
tli«'  uses  to  which  property  can  be  put.  A  man 
can  build  a  factory  where  he  wills.  He  can  erect 
an  apartment-house  on  a  street  dedicated  to  de- 
tached homes  or  even  build  a  noisy  garage  or  open 
a  saloon  or  livery-stable  in  the  residence  dist: 
The  city  has  been  unwilling  or  unable  to  control 
these  abuses. 

"All  street  architecture,"  says  H.  Inigo  Triggs, 
"is  social  architecture  and  ought  surely  to  conform 
to  those  rules  of  convention  by  which  all  society  is 

werned.  It  should  not  be  possible  for  any  one 
)lder  to  erect  some  vulgar  monstrosity  as  an 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  199 

advertisement,  when  by  such  building  he  entirely 
destroys  the  artistic  harmony  of  the  street.  There 
is  an  ever  growing  need  for  a  cultured  and  wide 
censorship,  as  liberal  as  possible,  that  will  prevent 
the  erection  of  the  hideous  and  purposeless  build- 
ings that  so  often  disgrace  our  streets."  l 

In  Paris  prizes  are  given  to  architects  who  design 
the  best  street  fagade  during  the  year.  The  city 
also  makes  awards  for  the  best  designs  for  buildings. 
It  remits  a  part  of  the  street  tax  to  the  owners  of 
approved  structures. 

Water-Fronts  and  Railway  Terminals. 

American  cities  have  also  neglected  to  retain  pos- 
session of  their  water-fronts.  New  York  has  ex- 
pended hundreds  of  millions  in  the  repurchase  of  its 
harbor  front  in  order  to  protect  its  ocean  traffic, 
while  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore  have  only 
recently  begun  to  plan  for  municipal  harbors.  But, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  cities,  scarcely  a  harbor 
on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  has  been  protected  against 
private  exploitation,  while  from  Duluth  to  Buffalo, 
on  the  Great  Lakes,  the  water-frontage  is  owned 
almost  exclusively  by  railroads  and  private  interests, 
which  will  have  to  be  expropriated  by  the  community 
if  adequate  harbor  facilities  are  to  be  provided  for 
the  water  traffic  of  this  great  inland  sea. 

Nor  have  we  utilized  our  water-fronts  for  recrea- 
tion or  beauty.  Boston  has  its  Charles  River  Basin ; 
New  York,  Riverside  Park;  Chicago  and  Cleveland 
have  preserved  a  portion  of  the  lake  front;  but, 

1  Town  Planning,  Past,  Present  and  Possible,  p.  256. 


200  THE  MODERN  CITY 

generally  speaking,  the  ocean,  lake,  and  river  front- 
age is  in  the  hands  of  business  when  it  should  be 
the  centre  of  the  life  of  the  city  as  it  is  in  European 
countries,  where  the  water-fronta  have  been  retained 
in  public  hands. 

We  have  also  neglected  to  make  provision  for 
transportation  facilities  and  railway  terminals.  With 
tin  exception  of  New  York,  Washington,  Boston, 
and  two  or  three  other  cities,  railway  approaches 
are  almost  universally  bad.  Stations  are  inade- 
quate; there  are  no  great  union  freight  terminals; 
no  attempt  to  unite  water  and  rail  traffic.  Nor 
have  our  cities  provided  for  the  proper  locat 
of  public  buildings.  There  have  been  no  great  c 

ires,  like  those  of  Europe,  about  which  pul>li< 
buildings  are  grouped. 

All  these  agencies  are  closely  related  to  th 
of  the  community,  and  their  control  and  correlat 
under  a  definite  plan  is  involved  in  the  art  of  « 
planning. 
The  Beginning  of  the  Planning  Movement 

Hi*    World's  Fair  in  Chicago  in  1893  marks  the 
beginning  of  city  planning  in  America.    People 
it  with  the  inquiry:  "  Why  cannot  cities  be  built 
likr  :i  world's  fair;  why  should  we  not  employ  archi- 
tects and  artists  in  th.  ir  designing;  why  should  we 
not  live  in  cities  as  beautiful  as  this  fugitive  play 
,  that  will  disappear  at  the  end  of  the  sum- 
r?"    And  the  men  who  designed  the  fair  also 
became  interested  in  thr  grouping  of  public  build- 
ings, in  the  control  of  streets  and  open  spaces,  in 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  201 

the  idea  of  building  cities  with  a  vision  of  the  fu- 
ture. 

Then  it  was  discovered  that  America  possessed 
in  its  capital  one  of  the  most  completely  planned 
cities  in  the  world.  Washington  was  designed  over 
a  century  ago.  It  might  have  grown  as  other  Amer- 
ican cities  have  grown  had  it  not  been  for  the  imag- 
ination of  the  first  President,  who  called  to  his  aid 
a  French  military  engineer,  Peter  Charles  L'Enfant, 
who  had  been  with  him  during  the  Revolutionary 
War.  L'Enfant  visited  the  capitals  of  Europe;  he 
studied  their  streets  and  open  spaces,  the  location 
of  public  buildings,  and  on  his  return  he  laid  out 
Washington  as  a  capital  city  for  a  population  of 
700,000  people. 

The  Washington  Plan. 

The  Capitol  was  located  on  a  commanding  hill 
and  was  connected  with  the  White  House  by  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue.  Between  the  Capitol  and  the 
White  House  grounds  a  parkway  2,000  feet  in  width 
was  set  aside  as  the  site  of  future  public  buildings. 
This  broad  mall  between  the  executive  and  legisla- 
tive departments  of  the  government  was  dedicated 
to  departmental  buildings,  a  number  of  which  have 
already  been  erected.  When  completed  the  mall 
will  be  one  of  the  most  splendid  parkways  in  the 
world,  flanked  on  either  side  by  great  buildings, 
and  with  a  view  of  the  Washington  Monument, 
the  Lincoln  Memorial,  and  the  expanse  of  the  Po- 
tomac River  in  the  distance.  The  plans  reserved 
the  banks  of  the  river  for  public  uses,  upon  which 


202  THE  MODERN  CITY 

parks  and  an  inland  water  basin  have  been  laid 
out .  Scattered  about  the  city  are  open  spaces  and 
circles  which  have  been  developed  into  small  parks. 
A  very  large  area  of  land  was  dedicated  to  streets 
and  to  parkage  in  front  of  the  houses. 

The  street  system  which  L'Enfant  designed  was 
unique.  Under  it  congestion  is  impossible.  He 
took  the  rectangular  gridiron  plan  of  Philadelphia 
and  laid  across  it  broad  diagonal  avenues  opening 
into  important  civic  centres.  At  the  intersection 
of  streets  and  avenues  open  spaces  were  left  for 
gardens  and  statuary.  Civic  centres  were  estab- 
lished about  the  Capitol,  the  White  House,  and 
elsewhere,  which  distribute  the  life  of  the  city  to 
many  centres.  In  this  respect  Washington  is  like 
Paris,  London,  and  Berlin. 

The  designs  of  L'Enfant  were  followed  for  nearly 
a  century  with  but  slight  alterations.  In  1903  a 
Senate  committee  was  appointed  to  study  the 
future  development  of  the  city  and  decide  upon 
t!i"  sites  of  future  public  buildings.  The  commis- 
sion was  composed  of  leading  experts,  who  visited 
Europe  and  on  their  return  reported  that  the  future 
plans  of  the  city  should  follow  those  of  L' Enfant; 
that  future  public  buildings  should  be  located  upon 
the  mall,  and  that  but  little  improvement  could  be 
made  upon  the  original  design. 

Recent  Progress  in  City  Planning. 

The  last  ten  years  have  witnessed  a  wide-spread 
interest  in  town  planning.  Over  one  hundred 
cities  have  entered  upon  planning  projects.  They 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  203 

include  New  York,  Chicago,  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  Pittsburgh,  Cleveland,  Milwaukee,  Co- 
lumbus, Albany,  Rochester,  Springfield  (Mass.), 
Denver,  Seattle,  Kansas  City,  Detroit,  Saint  Louis, 
Hartford,  Los  Angeles,  San  Diego,  Providence, 
Saint  Paul,  Minneapolis,  and  half  a  hundred  other 
cities  of  from  25,000  inhabitants  upward.  Many 
of  these  cities  have  appointed  experts  or  commis- 
sions to  prepare  plans.  Hundreds  of  millions  of 
dollars  are  involved  in  these  undertakings,  which 
in  many  instances  have  met  with  the  enthusiastic 
approval  of  the  people. 

A  national  town  planning  conference  has  been 
organized,  which  has  held  six  annual  meetings, 
while  the  cities  of  Philadelphia,  Chicago,  and  New 
York  have  held  very  creditable  exhibits  of  town 
planning  in  connection  with  conferences.  There  is 
evidence  that  the  municipal  movement  in  America 
is  on  the  threshold  of  a  transition,  and  it  is  not 
impossible  that  the  next  few  years  will  see  the  de- 
velopment of  a  nation-wide  movement  for  the  im- 
provement and  beautification  of  our  towns. 

The  Chicago  Plan. 

City  planning  involves  either  the  re-planning  of 
old  parts  of  the  city  or  the  development  of  new  areas 
in  an  orderly  way.  The  first  is  very  costly;  the 
second  involves  little  other  outlay  than  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  plans. 

Chicago  has  under  consideration  a  colossal  pro- 
gramme of  city  building.  It  is  fairly  comparable 
to  the  work  of  Napoleon  III  in  Paris.  The  total 


204  THE  MODERN  CITY 

cost  of  the  plans,  which  will  require  years  in  their 
completion,  runs  into  hundreds  of  millions.  The 
project  was  started  by  the  Commercial  Club,  which 
intrusted  the  plans  to  Mr.  Daniel  H.  Burnham,  an 
architect  of  international  reputation,  and  Edward 
H.  Bennett.  The  plans  treat  the  city  as  a  unit  and 
provide  for  generations  of  growth.  Michigan  A 
nue,  along  the  lake  front,  forms  the  basis,  while  at 
the  intersection  of  South  Halsted  and  West  Con- 
gress Streets  a  civic  centre  is  designed  like  the  Place 
de  la  Concorde  in  Paris,  to  be  surrounded  by  mon- 
umental structures  dominated  by  a  municipal  build- 
ing whose  dome  rises  high  ab<>\  ything  else. 
Out  from  the  civic  centre  broad  radial  avenues  are 
to  be  cut  through  the  rectangular  street  system  to 
tin*  suburbs.  Opening  out  into  Lake  Michigan  a 
circular  harbor  is  designed  from  which  there  is  to 
be  a  commanding  view  of  the  public  buildings,  while 
for  twenty  miles  along  the  lake  front  a  parkway  is 
to  be  built  by  dumping  the  city's  refuse  within  piles 
driven  some  distance  from  the  shore.  The  park- 
way will  be  separated  from  the  mainland  by  la- 
goons, to  be  used  for  boating,  rowing,  and  pleasure 
craft. 

Circumferential  boulevards  are  planned  in  two 
series  which  open  at  intervals  into  small  parks  and 
playgrounds,  while  far  out  in  the  country  great 
woods  are  to  be  acquired,  like  those  possessed  by 
the  German  and  Swiss  cities.  The  Chicago  plan  also 
includes  provision  for  transit,  both  steam  and  elec- 
tric,  including  the  building  of  terminals  for  water 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  205 

and  railway  transportation.  It  also  includes  the 
development  of  docks  and  harbors.  The  whole 
plan  covers  a  radius  of  sixty  miles  and  includes  pro- 
vision for  the  growth  of  the  city  for  many  genera- 
tions to  come.  Chicago  is  the  only  American  city 
to  undertake  a  plan  in  the  big,  comprehensive  way 
so  common  in  Germany. 

Grouping  Public  Buildings. 

Rulers  in  every  age  have  taken  pride  in  the  adorn- 
ment of  their  cities  with  palaces,  cathedrals,  and 
public  monuments.  And  planning  in  America  is 
for  the  most  part  confined  to  the  grouping  of  pub- 
lic buildings.  Cleveland,  a  city  of  700,000  people, 
has  entered  on  a  civic-centre  project  whose  cost  is 
estimated  at  over  $24,000,000.  A  large  tract  of 
land  was  purchased,  running  from  the  retail  bus- 
iness centre  to  the  lake  shore.  This  land  was  cov- 
ered by  cheap  buildings  and  was  relatively  inex- 
pensive. A  commission  of  outside  architects  was 
employed  to  plan  the  location  of  a  union  railway- 
station,  county  court-house,  city  hall,  public  library, 
and  other  public  structures.  The  railway-station 
is  to  be  the  city's  portal  and  will  open  into  a  broad 
mall  600  feet  wide,  running  to  the  centre  of  the 
city.  From  one  end  a  vista  of  the  station  is  ob- 
tained, while  from  the  other  the  federal  building 
and  library  appear.  The  county  court-house  is 
located  on  one  side  of  the  station  site,  the  city  hall 
on  the  other.  Public  and  semi-public  buildings  are 
to  flank  the  mall,  which  is  to  be  adorned  with  gar- 
dens, fountains,  and  statuary  on  either  side.  Be- 


206  THE  MODERN  CITY 

hind  the  union  station  is  a  lake-front  park,  to  be 
devoted  to  recreation. 

Denver  has  approved  designs  for  a  civic  centre  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  about  which  several  public 
buildings  are  to  be  grouped,  while  Seattle,  Rochester, 
Saint  Louis,  Hartford,  Springfield  (Mass.),  and  many 
other  cities  are  planning  similar  groups  as  centres  of 
the  city's  life. 

City  planning  in  this  country  has  been  generally 
confused  with  the  city  beautiful  or  limited  to  parks 
and  boulevards.  There  has  been  little  thought  of 
tli"  social  side  of  the  subject,  of  planning  the  < 
for  people,  for  industry,  for  transit,  for  terminals, 
housing,  and  the  development  of  suburbs.  We  have 
not  made  provision  for  factory  districts  or  the  segre- 
gation of  industry.  Little  has  been  done  for  the 
planning  of  water-fronts  and  practically  nothing 
for  the  control  of  railways  and  terminals.  There 
has  been  litth*  thought  of  the  health  of  the  workers, 
while  play  and  recreation  have  been  treated  as  a 
detached  thing.  City  planning  in  America  has 
been  almost  wholly  confined  to  the  spectacular. 

it  not  yet  the  science  of  city  building  that  it  is 
in  Germany. 

Beginning  of  Control. 

A  committee  appointed  by  the  board  of  estimate 
and  apportionment  of  New  York  recently  recom- 
mended very  radical  legislation  for  the  correction 
of  these  conditions.  It  urged  that  all  buildings  be 
limited  in  height  to  not  more  than  twice  the  width 
of  the  street,  with  permission,  however,  for  towers 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  207 

and  set-backs  of  one  foot  for  each  two  feet  hi  stories 
above  that  limit.  Special  regulations  for  height, 
bulk,  and  open  spaces  are  also  suggested  as  to  each 
separate  building  district  to  be  established.  In 
planning  these  districts  limitations  are  to  be  fixed 
with  regard  to  the  present  and  probable  uses  of  the 
territory  and  are  designed  with  the  idea  of  insuring 
safety  from  fire  and  the  promotion  of  health,  ade- 
quate light,  air,  and  open  spaces.  The  committee 
also  recommended  that  the  power  be  given  to  the 
city  to  designate  certain  districts  for  industry  and 
others  for  residences,  with  power  to  regulate  each 
district  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  permanence  of 
values  therein. 

Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  has  gone  further  than  any 
other  American  city  in  the  regulation  of  land  and 
buildings.  The  city  is  divided  into  industrial  and 
residential  sections,  with  the  aim  of  segregating  in- 
dustry and  residences  within  each  of  them.  All 
manufacturing  is  forbidden  in  the  residential  dis- 
tricts, although  inoffensive  business  may  be  carried 
on  therein.  The  State  of  Wisconsin  has  passed  an 
act  permitting  the  cities  to  set  aside  exclusive  resi- 
dential districts,  as  have  Minnesota  and  Illinois. 
The  legality  of  these  laws  has  been  tested  in  but  few 
cases,  but  the  Los  Angeles  ordinance,  the  most 
radical  of  any,  has  been  sustained  by  the  courts  of 
California. 

The  Helplessness  of  the  American  City. 

One  reason  for  this  failure  of  the  American  city 
is  to  be  found  in  its  helplessness.  For  the  powers 


208  THE  MODERN  CITY 

of  the  city  are  very  limited.  It  cannot  control  the 
^  public  sen-ice  corporations  or  compel  the  land 
speculator  to  plat  his  land  as  the  city  decrees. 
Officials  are  compelled  to  sit  idly  by  while  old 
abuses  are  repeated,  which  will  have  to  be  corrected 
in  the  future  at  great  cost  to  the  community.  Only 
within  limits  can  the  city  control  the  height  of 
buildings  or  limit  the  amount  of  land  that  may  be 
covered  by  them.  We  cannot  protect  the  com- 
munity from  noise  or  dirt  or  compel  factories  to 
locate  in  the  suburbs.  The  location  of  houses,  their 
height  and  distance  from  the  street,  the  fixing  of 
a  sky-lin<',  all  essential  to  proper  city  planning,  are 
beyond  our  control.  Nor  have  we  any  power  over 

I  ways;  we  cannot  compel  them  to  provide  proper 
stations.  We  see  great  cities  like  Cleveland  and 
HufTalo  powerless  to  secure  decent  stations  or  ade- 
quate terminal  facilities. 

City  planning  is  further  impossible  by  statutory 
limitations  on  y  borrowing  powers.    The  tax 

rate  is  limited,  as  is  the  amount  of  indebtedness. 
Cities  are  unable  to  carry  through  needed  improve* 
ments  because  of  these  limitations  on  their  financial 
powers. 

In  addition,  public  opinion,  which  the  law  re- 
flects, is  very  solicitous  of  the  rights  of  prop* 
We  have  not  yet  developed  a  community  sense  and 
have  little  realization  of  the  necessity  of  public 
control.  Officials,  too,  have  little  experience,  while 
we  have  not  appreciated  the  necessity  for  the 

>ort  in  municipal  affairs.    At  the  same  time  our 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA  209 

cities  have  no  traditions  of  beauty,  there  is  little 
local  affection.  All  of  these  factors  contribute  to 
the  backwardness  of  the  city-planning  movement  in 
this  country. 

Summary. 

City  planning  has  been  neglected  in  America,  and 
in  many  ways  this  is  our  most  costly  failure.  We 
have  neglected  to  anticipate  the  city's  growth  and 
make  provision  for  its  needs.  The  individualism  of 
American  life  expresses  itself  in  our  cities  more 
prominently  than  hi  any  other  place;  it  expresses 
itself  in  street  planning,  in  building  regulations,  in 
the  failure  to  limit  the  height  of  buildings  and  the 
area  to  be  covered  by  them.  We  have  also  failed 
to  retain  our  water-fronts,  to  anticipate  transporta- 
tion and  terminal  needs  and  make  provision  for  in- 
dustry. All  of  these  needs  are  part  of  proper  city 
planning. 

These  failures  are  largely  traceable  to  our  laissez- 
faire  philosophy,  a  philosophy  that  gave  too  great 
sanction  to  private  property  and  too  little  power  to 
the  community.  There  was  no  far-seeing  vision  of 
the  future,  no  appreciation  of  the  city  as  a  perma- 
nent thing,  and  no  vision  of  the  city  as  an  agency 
of  social  welfare. 

Within  the  past  ten  years  the  town-planning  move- 
ment has  received  a  great  impetus  and  gives  promise 
of  being  the  most  hopeful  municipal  movement  in 
the   country.     During   these   years   civic   centres, 
parks  and  boulevard  svptems,  the  laying  out  of 
suburban  territory,  and  Jthe  regulation  of  property  \1 
in'the  interest  of  the  community  have  made  substan-  | 
tial  progress,  in  the  accomplishment  of  which  scores  | 
of  cities  have  employed  trained  experts  in  the  carry-  B 


210  THE  MODERN  CITY 

ing  out  of  their  plans.  Just  as  home  rule  is  the  first 
essential  to  a  free  city,  so  comprehensive  town 
planning  is  the  most  important  task  in  the  pro- 
gramme of  city  reclamation. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE 

THE  motive  of  city  planning  in  the  past  has  been 
the  beautification  of  a  capital  city  or  the  aggrandize- 
ment of  a  monarch.  Pericles  built  the  Acropolis 
and  adorned  the  city  with  temples  and  amphithea- 
tres as  emblems  of  the  city's  greatness.  Rome  was 
rebuilt  by  the  Augustan  emperors  in  the  early 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  when  forums,  tem- 
ples, aqueducts,  theatres,  and  public  gardens  were 
laid  out  on  an  enduring  scale. 

Athens  and  Rome. 

"The  Athenian  of  the  time  of  Pericles  pursued  his 
work  in  the  midst  of  the  most  admirable  buildings, 
disposed  in  that  large,  monumental  manner  which  is 
of  the  highest  quality  of  architecture.  Hippoda- 
mus  of  Miletos  had  laid  out  the  Peiraeus  in  orderly 
squares  and  liberal  spaces.  Far  away  on  the  Acrop- 
olis gleamed  the  marble  of  the  Propylsea  and  the 
Parthenon,  and  between  them  the  bronze  figure  of 
Athene  Promachos  seemed  to  quiver  in  the  splendid 
light  that  played  around  the  city  of  the  violet 
crown.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  while  the  other 
towns  of  Greece  were  content  with  narrow  streets 
and  squalid  buildings,  the  fine  intelligence  of  the 
Athenian  expressed  itself  in  the  ordered  beauty  of 
his  city. 

"The  Roman  laid  out  his  cities  on  a  broad  com- 
prehensive scheme  with  ample  thoroughfares  and 

211 


212  THE  MODKKX  CITY 

public   spaces,   and   no   difficulties  of  engineering 
or  considerations  of  cost  induced  him  to  deviate 
a  hair's  breadth  from  his  monumental  plan.     He 
adorned  his  public  spaces  with  the  finest  statuary 
and  lined  the  walls  of  his  courts  with  rare  and  beau- 
tiful   marbles.     He    had    moreover   the   habit   of 
grouping  his  fine  buildings  in  such  relation  to  each 
other  that  their  effect  was  enhanced  instead  of 
being  stultified.     Even  when  the  fact  is  discounted 
that  he  had  slave  labor  and  the  resources  of 
known  world  at  his  back,  the  courage  of  his  expo: 
ture  on  public  works  and  the  adornment  of  his  < 
makes  our  own  municipal  efforts  seem  little  \am 
than  contemptible."  » 

The  towns  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  built  for  pro- 
tection and  shelter.  Everything  was  subordinate  to 
this  end.  The  houses  were  cloeely  crowded  within 
the  walls;  the  open  spaces  were  outside  the  < 
Tiir  idea  of  laying  out  a  town  on  a  deliberate  plan 
was  not  yet  thought  of,  and  when  new  communities 
were  foun<l«l  the  plan  adopted  was  subordinate  to 
military  considerations. 

It  was  not  until  the  Renaissance  that  the  idea 
of  public  architecture  or  the  systematic  disposition 
of  streets,  squares,  and  open  spaces  with  a  view  to 
their  orderly  effect  was  again  realised.  The  cities 
of  Italy  were  beautified  by  the  merchant  rulers  who 
encouraged  art  and  architecture  and  erected  splen- 
did palaces  and  laid  out  open  squares.  Religion 
expressed  its  ideals  in  Gothic  cathedrals,  while  the 
commercial  aristocracy  of  the  north  erected  city 

1  Reginald  Bloomfeld,  Public  Spocm,  Porto  a**  Gar*M  i*  An 
and  LV«  a/uj  (A4  BuMutg  ami  Ifceoralum  tf  CifcM. 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  213 

halls  and  guild  palaces  in  Brussels,  Bremen,  Frank- 
fort, and  other  mediaeval  towns  which  were  an 
expression  of  the  pride  of  these  cities. 

Paris. 

Paris  was  the  first  great  city  to  be  planned  in  the 
modern  sense  of  the  idea.  Louis  XIV,  ambitious 
for  his  capital,  intrusted  its  planning  to  the  Academy 
of  Architects,  which  prepared  designs  upon  which 
the  Madeleine,  Place  de  la  Concorde,  Invalides,  and 
the  wide  avenues  about  the  Tuileries  existed  years 
before  they  were  realized.  As  Paris  grew  into  the 
suburbs  it  followed  a  prearranged  and  spacious 
design  at  little  other  cost  than  the  preparation  of 
the  plans.  Napoleon  I  had  similar  dreams  for  a 
capital  of  the  world.  He  saw  that  the  Paris  of 
700,000  people  would  in  time  have  many  times  that 
population  and  that  provision  should  be  made  for 
its  orderly  growth.  He  opened  up  new  streets, 
spanned  the  Seine  with  bridges,  and  transformed  its 
appearance  by  the  construction  of  new  quays  and 
embankments.  Napoleon  III  continued  this  work 
on  an  even  more  ambitious  scale.  He  employed 
Baron  Haussman,  who  reconstructed  the  centre  of 
the  city  by  cutting  new  streets  through  the  con- 
gested quarters  and  the  opening  of  a  series  of  great 
boulevards  which  encircle  the  older  sections.  The 
cost  of  these  projects  was  $265,000,000,  but  the 
investment  brings  thousands  of  people  to  Paris 
every  year  and  yields  dividends  annually  to  shop- 
keepers, hotels,  and  restaurants.  Now  Paris  is 
planning  a  fourth  great  development  at  an  esti- 


214  THE  MODERN  CITY 

mated  cost  of  $180,000,000.  The  old  fortifications 
which  still  surround  the  city  are  to  be  developed  into 
a  great  park  and  boulevard  system  like  the  Ring- 
strasse  of  Vienna.  Provision  is  to  be  made  for 
an  increased  water-supply,  for  new  hospitals,  and 
many  other  great  improvements.  The  rulers  of 
the  smaller  German  states  also  carried  through 
isolated  planning  projects.  The  kings  of  Bavaria 
involved  themselves  with  their  subjects  in  their 
extravagant  expenditures  for  the  beautification  of 
Munich,  for  art  galleries  and  museums,  for  palaces, 
gardens,  and  open  spaces  which  give  so  much  charm 
to  that  city.  Dresden,  the  capital  of  Saxony,  Carls- 
ruhe,  and  Mannheim  were  also  embellished  by  their 
rulers  much  as  was  Munich.  They  an-  littl«»  Haupt- 
stfidte  with  tin  ir  palaces,  galleries,  and  Hofgartens. 

In  1666,  after  the  great  fire  in  London,  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren  devised  a  plan  for  London  which,  if 
it  had  been  carried  out,  would  have  made  London 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  of  the  world.  Saint 
Paul's  Cathedral,  instead  of  being  hemmed  in  by 
shop  property,  would  have  stood  in  the  centre  of  a 
fine,  oval  place,  approached  by  a  broad  roadway 
from  Ludgate,  instead  of  narrow  Fleet  Street.  He 
planned  a  great  embankment  to  border  the  river 
from  Blackfriars  Bridge  to  the  Tower.  But  the 
plan  was  never  carried  out  and  the  opportunity 
was  lost. 
Modern  City  Planning. 

As  an  organized  art  city  planning  has  reached 
its  highest  development  in  Germany,  from  wh 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  215 

country  it  has  spread  all  over  the  world.  The 
beauty  of  the  old  towns  as  well  as  the  perfection  of 
municipal  administration  made  it  natural  that  town 
planning  should  develop  first  in  that  country. 
Moreover,  the  industrial  revolution  reached  Ger- 
many much  later  than  it  did  Great  Britain  and 
America,  for,  prior  to  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  Ger- 
many was  an  agricultural  country.  In  1870  68 
per  cent,  of  the  population  was  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture. In  1907  the  agricultural  population  was  but 
28  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  In  the  former  year  only 
25  per  cent,  of  the  people  lived  in  cities  of  more 
than  5,000  population,  there  being  but  nine  cities 
of  over  100,000  people.  To-day  there  are  forty- 
seven  cities  in  this  class. 

The  inrush  of  population  to  meet  the  demands  of 
industry,  with  the  coming  of  mills  and  factories, 
threatened  the  beauty  of  the  old  towns.  Popula- 
tion leaped  over  the  walls  and  spread  out  into  the 
country  where  land  speculators  laid  off  their  prop- 
erty as  they  wished,  upon  which  tenements  were 
erected  and  bad  housing  conditions  reproduced. 
The  old  quarters  of  the  towns  were  also  terribly 
congested,  while  the  health  of  the  city  was  endan- 
gered by  the  overcrowding  which  resulted.  Pro- 
vision had  to  be  made  for  new  streets,  for  water  and 
rail  communication  to  accommodate  the  business 
and  traffic.  Especially  was  this  true  in  the  Rhine 
towns,  where  the  industrial  development  was  most 
rapid. 


216  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Town  Planning  a  Protest 

Against  these  conditions  a  protest  arose,  and  the 
cities,  which  have  more  power  than  in  this  count  ry, 
began  to  study  the  problem.  They  assumed  con- 
trol of  the  outlying  land  and  planned  it  as  a  unit. 
New  streets  were  laid  out  so  as  to  insure  adequate 
air  space  and  proper  circulation.  The  smoke  of 
the  factories  was  a  nuisance,  so  ordinances  were 
passed  which  required  factories  to  locate  on  the 
outskirts  away  from  the  prevailing  winds,  so  that 
smoke  would  be  carried  away  from  the  city  rather 
than  toward  it. 

n  planning  had  its  birth  as  a  protest  against 
just  such  license  as  prevails  in  America.  It  was  an 
assertion  of  the  right  of  the  community  to  protect 
its  life.  Germany  said  to  the  land  owner,  the  fac- 
tory builder,  and  the  house  owner:  "You  must  so 
use  your  property  that  it  will  conform  with  the 
general  plan  which  our  architects  have  dasjgnad; 
you  must  plat  your  streets,  locate  your  structures 
and  use  your  property  so  that  it  will  not  injure  the 
health  and  well-being  of  the  community."  In  a 
s<>ns<>,  the  city  h:i<l  its  t.irth  in  town  planning.  Mi-n 
began  to  see  it  as  a  whole. 

The  New  Science. 

No  large  city  in  Germany  is  now  without  an  official 
plan  for  its  future  growth,  prepared  by  experts  and 
frequently  after  competition  A  profession  of  town 
planning  has  come  into  existence,  while  colleges 
devoted  to  the  subject  have  been  opened  in  Berlin 
and  DQsseldorf.  Experts  go  from  city  to  city  to 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  217 

aid  local  officials  in  the  planning  of  suburbs,  the 
designing  of  centres,  the  grouping  of  public  build- 
ings, the  arrangement  of  streets,  parks,  and  open 
spaces,  much  as  efficiency  experts  in  this  country 
go  from  factory  to  factory.  There  is  a  voluminous 
literature  on  the  subject  as  well  as  frequent  con- 
ferences. In  1910  a  town-planning  exposition  was 
held  in  Berlin  with  exhibits  from  all  over  Germany. 
A  similar  exposition  was  held  in  Dusseldorf  in  1912. 
Town  planning  in  Germany  has  become  a  science,  to 
which  men  devote  their  lives  as  they  do  to  other 
municipal  activities.  Competitions  have  been  held 
by  Berlin,  Munich,  and  Dusseldorf  for  the  proper 
planning  of  the  city.  Specifications  are  drawn  by 
the  city  authorities  like  those  for  the  erection  of  a 
building,  and  prizes  are  awarded  in  the  competi- 
tions which  attract  experts  from  all  over  the  country. 
City  Planning  in  France  and  England. 

In  1909  France  enacted  a  compulsory  town-plan- 
ning act  for  cities  of  more  than  10,000  population. 
The  preparation  of  the  plans  is  left  to  the  local 
community,  subject,  however,  to  the  approval  of 
the  central  authorities.  Each  city  is  required  to 
complete  an  extension-and-improvement  plan  within 
five  years  for  the  future  growth  of  the  community. 
These  plans  must  indicate  the  location  of  public 
parks,  gardens,  and  open  spaces,  as  well  as  the 
width,  style,  and  character  of  streets.  By-laws 
must  be  enacted  controlling  the  construction  of 
houses,  the  area  of  land  that  may  be  built  upon, 
and  in  general  provide  for  the  city's  growth  along 


218  THE  MODERN  CITY 

hygienic  and  artistic  lines.  When  the  plans  h 
been  prepared  they  must  be  submitted  to  the  state 
for  approval.  They  must  then  be  exhibited  in  the 
city  hall  for  a  year  to  give  citizens  a  chance  to  object 
or  suggest  improvements.  If  a  city  fails  to  com- 
ply with  the  act,  then  the  state  itself  may  prepare 
plans  on  its  own  initiative  and  impose  them  on  the 
city.  When  finally  approved  the  plans  remain  the 
official  plan  of  the  city  for  thirty  years.  They 
must  be  observed  by  the  city  itself  in  all  its  de- 
velopment work  as  well  as  by  private  owners  and 
builden. 

Great  Britain  adopted  a  similar  town-planning 
act  in  1909  and  placed  its  administration  under  the 
control  of  the  local  government  board.  Under  the 
law  local  authorities  are  permitted  to  make  pr 
sion  for  the  development  of  the  suburbs  and  fix  by 
ordinance  the  allotment  of  land,  the  building  of 
houses  and  factories,  and  all  other  regulations  for 
the  health  and  sanitary  needs  of  the  community. 
When  completed  the  local  plans  must  be  submitted 
to  the  local  government  board  for  approval.  Under 
this  act  a  large  number  of  towns  have  worked  out 
plans  of  city  widening  which,  in  connection  with  the 
garden-suburb  movement,  give  promise  of  changing 
the  appearance  of  the  great  industrial  centres  in 
which  the  great  majority  of  the  British  people  dwelL 

Street  Planning. 

The  streets  of  the  German  city  are  planned  with 
the  care  given  to  a  public  structure.  They,  more 
than  anything  else,  control  the  life  of  the  city. 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  219 

Streets  ought  not  to  be  all  alike,  the  German  plan- 
ners say.  They  should  be  planned  for  the  use  to 
which  they  are  to  be  put  and  should  have  as  much 
variety  as  possible.  One  type  is  suited  to  retail 
business,  another  to  the  official  centre,  another  for 
expensive  villas,  and  still  another  for  factory  dis- 
tricts. In  sections  where  fine  houses  are  to  be 
built  the  streets  should  be  spacious  and  parked 
with  trees.  Here  the  houses  should  be  set  back  a 
certain  distance  from  the  street;  they  should  be 
separated  from  one  another  by  a  certain  number 
of  feet.  The  height  of  buildings  is  also  limited, 
and  rarely  is  it  more  than  the  width  of  the  street. 
In  most  sections  of  the  city  the  building  line  is 
much  lower. 

Vienna,  Frankfort,  Cologne,  and  Bremen  were 
surrounded  with  fortifications  which  formerly  be- 
longed to  the  state.  They  were  acquired  by  the 
cities  and  developed  into  Ringstrassen  or  made  the 
sites  of  public  buildings.  The  Ringstrasse  of  Vi- 
enna is  the  most  commanding  street  in  the  world. 
It  was  designed  to  be  such.  Upon  it  are  located 
the  palaces,  museums,  art  galleries,  the  city  hall, 
university,  and  other  public  structures,  which  form 
commanding  groups.  Vienna  retained  title  to  the 
land  until  these  improvements  were  completed, 
and  then  sold  a  portion  of  the  land  at  a  greatly 
increased  value,  and  by  so  doing  reimbursed  itself 
for  much  of  the  cost  of  the  undertaking. 

Many  German  cities  have  laid  out  circular  boule- 
vards of  the  same  general  style.  They  form  the 


220  THE  MODERN  CITY 

circumference  of  the  city.  Radiating  out  from  the 
business  or  official  centre  are  wide,  radial  thorough- 
fares which  are  designed  to  be  the  main  traffic 
streets.  These  thoroughfares  are  very  wide  and  are 
in  the  nature  of  continuous  parkways.  In  the  centre 
is  a  promenade  way  with  trees  and  gardens.  On 
cither  side  street-car  tracks  are  laid  in  the  grass- 
plats  to  reduce  the  noise  and  dirt.  Bridle-paths 
are  provided,  while  next  to  the  curbs  are  the  road- 
ways for  traffic.  These  radial  thoroughfares  are 
lined  with  trees  and  beautified  with  fountains  and 
gardens.  Often  they  are  curved  or  winding.  The 
charm  of  winding  streets  may  be  seen  on 
Canal  in  Venice,  in  Regent  Street,  London,  or  High 
et,  Oxford.  There  are  new  vistas  at  every  step. 

Mediaeval  City  Streets. 

Some  planners  are  reverting  to  the  irregular  street, 
likr  those  found  in  the  old  cities  of  Nuremberg, 
Rothenberg,  Oxford,  or  Cambridge.  The  irregu- 
larity of  the  streets  in  these  towns  was  generally 
assumed  to  be  due  to  accident  or  ignorance,  hut 
remit  discoveries  have  <li>rl. ..«•<!  that  th»>  stn-ota 
were  designed  in  this  way.  They  were  broken  off 
in  dead  ends  for  more  easy  defence,  to  keep  down 
the  dust  in  summer  and  the  cold  winds  of  the  winter. 
There  was  no  paving  in  those  days  and  fuel  was 
difficult  to  obtain,  so  the  streets  were  designed 
to  minimize  these  conditions  as  much  as  possible. 
The  street  plans  of  some  of  the  more  recent  subur- 
ban developments  are  designed  along  these  lines. 
They  aim  to  reproduce  in  the  modern  town  the 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  221 

charm  and  picturesqueness  of  the  sixteenth-century 
city. 

The  planning  of  the  streets  and  the  laying  out  of 
new  allotments  is  done  by  the  city  rather  than  by 
the  owner.  Pavements,  sewers,  water  and  other 
service  pipes  are  also  installed  by  the  city  and 
the  construction  is  very  permanent.  Before  a  new 
territory  is  opened  up  to  building  it  is  carefully 
studied  to  ascertain  its  natural  advantages  and  the 
particular  use  to  which  it  should  be  put.  And 
when  a  decision  is  reached  the  streets  are  planned 
accordingly.  This  is  sometimes  done  by  the  city 
engineer,  often  by  experts  called  in  for  the  purpose, 
sometimes  after  competition. 

The  Zone  System. 

The  city  also  determines  the  use  to  which  property 
shall  be  put.  This  is  not  done  arbitrarily  but  in 
accordance  with  the  natural  advantages  of  the 
land.  This  is  known  as  the  zone  system.  If  the 
land  is  located  by  the  railroad  station  or  in  prox- 
imity to  the  harbor,  it  is  naturally  suited  for  indus- 
trial purposes  and  is  planned  accordingly.  Where 
possible  the  factory  zone  is  located  on  that  side  of 
the  city  away  from  the  prevailing  winds,  which 
protects  the  city  from  smoke  and  dirt.  All  new  in- 
dustries are  required  to  locate  in  this  territory. 

The  worker  should  be  able  to  live  near  his  work, 
so  land  hi  the  neighborhood  is  laid  off  for  work- 
ing men's  houses.  Here  the  streets  are  not  very 
wide,  for  the  traffic  is  not  heavy  and  should  be 
discouraged.  Small  parks  or  play  spaces  are  pro- 


222  THE  MODERN  CITY 

vided  to  afford  recreation  for  the  children  and  the 
family.    Other  sections  are  laid  out  for  expen- 
villas  or  high-class  apartment-houses,  and  here  the 
streets  are  planned  on  a  more  spacious  scale. 

All  this  makes  for  permanence.  The  owner  is 
assured  that  his  property  wfll  be  protected  from 
alien  use  and  will  not  be  depreciated  by  factories, 
warehouses,  or  other  objectionable  buildings, 
can  build  with  the  expectation  of  protection  by  the 
community  itself. 

The  Control  of  Buildings. 

Similar  restrictions  are  placed  upon  the  builder. 
Ordinances  zoning  the  city  provide  for  the  kind  of 
structures  that  may  be  erected  in  each  zone  as  wrll 
as  their  general  architectural  effect.  The  maximum 
height  of  all  buildings  is  fixed.  Rarely  are  they 
permitted  to  be  higher  than  the  width  of  the  street. 
The  amount  of  land  that  may  be  covered  is  also 
determined  in  advance  as  well  as  the  distance  of 
the  house  front  from  the  street  line.  In  the  zone 
dedicated  to  detached  houses  a  certain  distance 
must  be  left  between  the  houses.  This  still  further 
insures  harmony  and  beauty;  it  gives  permanent 
character  to  each  district. 

The  city  of  Ulm,  for  instance,  divides  the  buiM- 
ing  area  in  one  zone  as  follows:  17  per  cent,  is  first 
dedicated  to  streets;  50  per  cent,  is  then  reserved 
for  front  gardens  and  13  per  cent,  for  rear  ones. 
Only  20  per  cent,  of  the  land  may  be  covered  by 
buildings.  In  Frankfort  there  are  three  districts. 
In  the  business  district  75  per  cent,  of  the  land  may 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  223 

be  covered  by  structures,  but  the  buildings  must 
not  exceed  five  stories  or  be  more  than  65  feet  in 
height.  In  the  next  outer  zone  houses  may  be  four 
stories  high  provided  they  are  not  higher  than  the 
width  of  the  street.  In  the  third  zone  two  stories 
is  the  limit,  while  factories  are  not  allowed  in  the 
residence  districts.  In  Cologne  25  per  cent,  of  the 
land  must  be  left  free  in  the  business  section,  35 
per  cent,  in  the  next  outer  zone,  while  in  the  subur- 
ban districts  only  50  per  cent,  of  the  land  may  be 
built  upon.1 

Under  these  regulations  similarity  of  use  and 
architectural  harmony  is  insured  in  each  district, 
while  the  street  presents  a  uniform  sky-line.  By 
setting  the  houses  back  an  equal  distance  from  the 
street  a  certain  uniformity  in  frontage  is  also  in- 
sured. Beauty  is  still  further  secured  by  frequent 
gardens,  by  flower  boxes  along  the  house  fronts,  by 
the  planting  of  trees  and  ornamental  shrubs. 

Harbor  and  Water  Fronts. 

European  cities  prize  their  water-fronts  and  rarely 
permit  them  to  fall  into  private  hands.  This  is  as 
true  of  the  small  streams  and  inland  lakes  as  it  is  of 
the  rivers  and  seacoast  cities.  Dresden,  upon  the 
river  Elbe,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  of 
Europe  because  of  its  river-front  development. 
The  river  terrace  is  known  as  the  Balcony  of  Europe. 
Budapest,  said  by  many  to  be  the  most  splendid 


1 A  commission  has  recently  reported  in  favor  of  districting  the 
city  of  New  York,  of  limiting  the  height  of  buildings,  and  the  fixing 
of  other  limitations  on  the  uses  permitted  in  the  various  districts. 


224  THE  MODERN  CITY 

city  in  Europe,  was  planned  by  the  Hungarian 
people  in  a  patriotic  determination  to  rival  Vienna. 
The  Danube  River  is  retained  within  high  embank- 
ments terraced  down  to  the  water.  On  the  1< 
level  are  landing-stages  for  steamers.  Higher  up 
are  wagon  roads  for  traffic,  while  on  the  top  of  the 
embankment  are  promenade-ways  and  parks  which 
form  the  favorite  resort  of  the  people.  Both  sides 
of  the  river  are  flanked  with  splendid  public  buiKl- 
ings  and  palaces,  while  the  river  itself  is  spanned 
with  beautiful  bridges.  The  river  Seine,  in  Paris, 
has  been  beautified  by  successive  governments,  as 
is  the  Thames  in  London.  The  river  Rhine,  from 
its  mouth  to  its  source,  is  protected  in  the  same  way 
by  the  cities.  Private  interests  are  not  permi* 
to  encroach  upon  it,  the  harbors  and  docks  being 
everywhere  owned  by  the  city.  Unlike  the  wa' 
fronte  of  the  American  cities,  the  rivers  and  canal 
ways  in  Germany  are  the  centres  of  all  sorts  of  life 
of  the  people.  Even  where  intensively  used  by 
commerce  they  are  so  planned  as  to  be  accessible 
to  the  public  for  other  purposes. 

Hamburg  converted  a  swamp  in  the  centre  of  the 
city  into  a  series  of  lakes  known  as  the  Alster. 
The  parks  about  it  were  laid  out  for  restaurants 
and  places  of  refreshment.  The  lake  is  surrounded 
by  beautiful  residences,  and  during  the  summer 
months  is  covered  with  all  kinds  of  pleasure  craft 
and  is  used  by  the  entire  population  for  recreation. 
In  Dusaeldorf,  Bremen,  Nuremberg,  and  elsewhere 
the  old  moats  which  surround  the  towns  have  been 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  225 

preserved  and  beautified.  The  canals  running 
through  Berlin  are  bordered  with  shade  trees  and 
promenades,  and  the  busy  traffic  in  no  way  inter- 
feres with  the  beauty  of  the  city. 

Harbors  are  built  by  the  cities  as  an  aid  to  com- 
merce. They  are  linked  up  with  the  railroad  sys- 
tem so  as  to  reduce  transportation  costs  to  a  min- 
imum. Upon  the  embankment  hydraulic  and  elec- 
trical equipment  is  installed  for  the  handling  of 
water  and  rail  freight.  The  neighboring  district 
is  laid  off  as  a  site  for  factories,  with  spurs  from  the 
railroads  running  to  each,  so  as  to  offer  the  best 
transportation  facilities  to  a  large  number  of  fac- 
tories. Diisseldorf  increased  its  water  commerce 
300  per  cent,  by  the  building  of  a  harbor  on  the 
Rhine.  Cologne,  Mannheim,  Mainz,  and  other 
cities  have  been  converted  into  great  manufacturing 
centres  by  the  intelligent  development  of  their  water 
facilities.  Frankfort,  a  city  of  414,000,  is  spending 
$18,000,000  on  a  harbor  undertaking,  which  involves 
deepening  the  river  Main  for  seven  miles  and  the 
excavation  of  a  great  harbor  basin  out  of  the  land. 

City  planning  in  Germany  includes  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  steam  railroads,  waterways,  and  har- 
bors so  that  they  all  become  an  integral  part  of  the 
city.  In  place  of  the  conflict  between  railroads  and 
waterways  so  prevalent  in  America,  instead  of  con- 
troversy as  to  stations,  terminals,  and  rights  of 
way,  the  means  of  transit  are  subordinated  to  the 
city  and  made  to  take  their  place  in  the  social  or- 
ganism much  as  does  the  circulatory  system  of  the 


226  THE  MODERN  CITY 

human  body.    They  are  agents   of  city   building 
and  are  intelligently  used  for  that  purpose. 
Land  Ownership. 

From   the   earliest   times   German   towns   have 
owned  common  lands  and  forests  round  about  the 
village,  which  were  used  for  pasturage,  for  forest  ry, 
for  agriculture,  and  the  gathering  of  fuel.    This 
land  has  been  generally  retained.    It  is  stated  1 
German  writer  that  no  less  than  fifteen  hundred 
towns  and  villages  in  Germany  still  own  and  1 
owned  right  down  from  the  Middle  Ages  so  murh 
common  land  that  their  inhabitants  pay  nei; 
rates  nor  taxes. 

Cities  are  constantly  increasing  their  landed  pos- 
sessions. Cologne  has  recently  increased  its  L 
holdings  by  1,269  per  cent.  Between  1890  and  1902 
Chemnitz  added  605  per  cent.;  Munich,  334 
cent.,  Dresden,  290  per  cent;  Mannheim,  254  per 
cent,  to  their  previous  possessions.  The  govt 
inmt  encourages  the  cities  in  this  policy,  and  the 
interior  department  recently  issued  orders  to  ad- 
mini^  trative  officials  to  use  their  influence  to  induce 
the  towns  to  buy  as  much  land  as  they  could  obtain. 
(>s  are  also  land  speculators.  DQsseldorf  has 
provided  a  special  fund  of  $3,750,000  with  which  to 
buy  and  sell  real  estate  the  same  as  a  private  spec- 
ulator. The  purpose  of  the  investment,  according 
to  the  city's  own  statement,  is  "to  restrain  the  un- 
natural augmentation  of  the  price  of  land."  Through 
its  landholdings  the  city  competes  with  private  spec- 
ulators. It  retains  the  unearned  increment  from  the 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE 


227 


growth  of  the  city  and  also  keeps  down  the  price  of 
building  sites  for  the  people. 

Inasmuch  as  the  cities  often  own  the  street-rail- 
ways, they  know  in  which  direction  the  city  is  to 
grow,  for  the  city  itself  decides  as  to  street-railway 
extensions.  With  this  knowledge  it  buys  land  in 
advance  of  the  extensions  and  reaps  a  return  in  the 
increased  value  which  the  street-railway  creates. 
In  addition,  the  ownership  of  land  enables  the 
city  to  plan  for  its  development  in  a  generous  way. 
It  can  provide  open  spaces  for  parks  and  play- 
grounds; it  can  locate  schools  and  public  buildings 
and  can  protect  new  regions  from  slums  and  tene- 
ments. Landownership  is  part  of  the  city-planning 
and  housing  policy  of  German  cities. 

Frankfort  owns  16,650  acres,  or  48.9  per  cent,  of 
its  area.  Its  total  holdings  amount  to  16,650  acres. 
Mannheim  owns  35.4  per  cent,  of  the  land  which  it 
covers  and  Vienna  32,062  acres. 

The  following  table  indicates  the  extent  of  land- 
ownership  by  some  of  the  other  German  cities: 


TOTAL  AREA 

OF  ClTT 

TOTAL 
AMOUNT  OP 
LAND  OWNED 

BT  ClTT 

PROPORTION  OF 
TOTAL  CITY  AREA 

WITHIN 

ClTT 

WITHOUT 
CITY 

ACRES 

ACRES 

PER 

CENT. 

PER 

CENT. 

Berlin1 

15,689.54 
21,290.24 
14,095.25 
19,345.45 
9,677.25 
2,338.60 
10,470.37 

39,151.28 
13,597.02 
8,406.84 
11,866.98 
6,674.90 
1,633.33 
4,480.79 

9.2 
23.7 
32.3 
33.2 
37.7 
4.2 
3.05 

240.8 
37.8 
27.4 
281.1 
20.4 
65.1 
42.9 

Munich 

Leipsic  

Strassburg  

Hanover           

Sch6neberg  . 

Spandau 

iMuch  of  the  land  owned  by  Berlin  is  outside  of  the  city  limits. 


228  THE  MODERN  CITY 

How  the  German  City  Anticipates  Its  Needs. 

The  German  city  also  anticipates  its  needs  by 
acquiring  land  in  advance  of  its  growth.  Sites  are 
bought  for  schoolhouses  and  other  public  structures, 
for  parks  and  playgrounds,  out  in  the  suburbs.  One 
of  the  competitive  plans  of  Munich  provided  for 
eighteen  little  centres  in  the  outlying  districts  about 
which  public  buildings,  churches,  and  schools  were 
to  be  located.  Existing  villages  were  to  be  left 
undisturbed  and  new  centres  were  to  be  built  about 
them.  Dusseldorf  owns  a  controlling  interest  in 
the  capital  stock  of  a  suburban  street-railway  which 
is  also  a  land-speculation  company.  By  this  means 
the  city  reaps  a  return  on  its  investment,  just  as  does 
any  private  corporation,  and  at  the  same  time  secures 
th"  co-operation  of  private  business  men  in  carrying 
on  its  enterprise. 

The  Meaning  of  City  Planning. 

City  planning  is  a  recognition  of  the  unity  as  weO 
as  the  permanence  of  the  city.     It  involves  a  sub- 
nation  of  the  individual  to  the  common  good. 
It  enlarges  the  powers  of  the  city  to  include  the 
things  mm  own  as  well  as  the  men  themselves,  and 
widens  the  Mea  of  sovereignty  so  as  to  protect  the 
community  from  him  who  abuses  the  right  of  prop- 
as  it  now  protects  the  community  from  him 
who  abuses  his  personal  freedom. 

i  big  way  city  planning  involves  a  new  vision 
of  the  city.  It  means  a  city  built  by  experts;  by 
experts  in  architecture,  in  landscape  gardening,  in 
engineering  and  housing;  by  students  of  health, 


CITY  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE  229 

sanitation,  transportation,  water,  gas,  and  elec- 
tricity supply;  by  a  new  type  of  officials  who  vis- 
ualize the  complex  life  of  a  million  people  as  the 
architect  visualizes  an  individual  home.  City  plan- 
ning involves  new  terms,  a  wider  outlook  of  urban 
life  in  all  its  relationships. 

City  planning  also  recognizes  the  permanence  of 
the  city.  It  recognizes  that  the  city  need  not  be 
an  evil  but  has  tremendous  possibilities  for  good 
if  it  is  but  organized  as  an  instrumentality  with  this 
end  in  view.  Through  proper  planning  the  cost  of 
living  can  be  controlled,  as  can  housing,  rents,  and 
comfort.  City  planning  is  far  more  than  the  city 
beautiful.  This  is  but  incidental.  The  real  mo- 
tive is  community  living. 

Summary. 

City  planning  has  made  phenomenal  progress  in 
Europe,  especially  in  Germany,  France,  and  Great 
Britain.  As  a  modern  art  it  had  its  beginnings  in 
Germany,  in  which  country  it  has  been  developed 
into  a  well-recognized  municipal  profession.  Ger- 
man cities  are  built  as  a  unit,  from  centre  to  circum- 
ference. Officials,  citizens,  and  owners  unite  in  the 
realization  of  the  fact  that  the  city  should  be  planned 
with  as  much  care  as  a  private  building  and  with 
every  provision  for  the  future.  Regulations  are 
adopted  by  the  town  council  for  the  laying  out  of 
suburban  territory,  so  as  to  prevent  the  reappear- 
ance of  the  evils  of  the  past,  to  limit  the  land  that 
can  be  built  upon,  the  kind  of  houses  that  can  be 
constructed,  as  well  as  the  uses  to  which  the  prop- 
erty may  be  put.  Similar  provision  is  made  for 
commerce  and  industry,  while  the  railways  and 


230  THE  MODERN  CITY 

waterways  are  definitely  co-ordinated  into  the  city 
plan. 

Following  the  example  of  Germany,  France  and 
England  have  adopted  town-planning  acts  by  means 
of  which  the  new  urban  development*  in  these  coun- 
tries are  under  the  control  of  public  authorities,  to 
insure  the  orderly  and  symmetrical  development  of 
the  cities. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
POLICE,  FIRE,  AND  HEALTH  PROTECTION 

THE  guarding  of  a  city  includes  protecting  the 
life,  health,  and  property  of  the  people.  This  pro- 
tection is  afforded  by  the  police  department,  which 
includes  various  courts  and  correctional  institutions, 
the  fire  department,  and  the  department  of  health 
and  sanitation. 

It  is  easy  to  trace  the  connection  between  the 
city  and  the  need  of  protection.  Crime  is  largely 
urban,  as  is  vice.  Infectious  diseases,  the  neces- 
sity for  pure  water  and  milk,  the  disposal  of  sewage 
and  garbage,  and  the  inspection  of  food  inhere  in 
the  conditions  of  city  life.  Sanitation  is  a  modern 
science  which  has  come  into  being  to  solve  the 
problems  created  by  urban  environments.  In  the 
words  of  Doctor  Edward  Lederle,  former  health 
commissioner  of  New  York:  "Each  advance  in 
sanitary  science  goes  to  strengthen  the  position  that 
the  problems  of  preventable  disease  and  misery 
are  largely  social  problems  and  must  be  met  and 
solved  by  collective  action  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
munity." 

And  where  the  close  living  of  people  becomes  con- 
gestion the  problem  is  more  insistent.  Crowded 
tenements  and  unwholesome  factories  breed  dis- 

231 


232  THE  MODERN   CITY 

ease,  and  such  tenements  and  factories  are  products 
of  the  modern  city. 

The  need  of  fire  protection  arises  in  the  same  way. 
While  the  isolated  building  may  be  left  to  its  own 
risks,  isolation  is  not  possible  in  the  city.  And 
where  population  is  crowded  the  danger  becomes  a 
constant  menace.  The  existence  of  thousands  of 
tenement  buildings  in  New  York,  "housing  nearly 
3,000,000  people  .  .  .  most  of  them  built  v. 
wooden  stairs,  wooden  halls  and  wooden  floors,  and 
thousands  built  entirely  of  wood/'  partially  explains 
the  rapid  development  of  the  fire  service  of  our 
great  cities. 

Social  Origin  of  Vice  and  Crime. 

The  economic  and  industrial  conditions  in  ritirs 
a!*)  t.'n.i  t«.  produce  rid  an-l  crime,  Thm-  i>  a 
traceable  relation  between  unemployment  and  va- 
grancy. Crime  increases  during  periods  of  indus- 
trial depression.  The  human  wreckage  of  the  < 
is  largely  the  result  of  industrial  change,  of  loss  of 
work,  bad  times,  sickness,  and  the  attendant  evils 
of  poverty.  From  those  thrown  out  of  work  the 
tramp,  vagabond,  prostitute,  and  petty  criminal 
emerge.  And  the  system  of  arrests  and  indis- 
criminate punishment  still  further  enlarges  the 
criminal  <  lass.  Juvenile  crime  is  largely  the  prod- 
uct of  bad  home  and  street  environment  Mr. 
Ernest  K.  Coulter,  formerly  clerk  of  the  children's 
court  of  New  York  County,  says:  "The  children 
often  come  to  f«  1  that  they  are  not  wanted  in 
their  so-called  homes,  and  they  are  really  forced  to 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION      233 

the  street.  The  most  skilful  pickpockets  in  New 
York  City  are  children.  The  ranks  of  these  young 
thieves  are  constantly  being  recruited  from  the 
districts  where  there  is  the  greatest  congestion. " 
The  same  is  true  of  the  fathers  and  the  older  chil- 
dren. They,  too,  are  driven  from  the  home  to  the 
street. 

The  city  has  created  these  burdens,  it  has  sur- 
rounded the  individual  with  dangers.  For  this 
reason  protection  is  a  social  obligation  and  public 
opinion  is  coming  to  recognize  that  the  motives  of 
police  and  correctional  administration  should  not  be 
retributive  or  punitive  but  humane  and  curative. 

Organization  of  the  Police  Department. 

The  selection  of  patrolmen  and  firemen  in  the 
larger  cities  is  made  according  to  civil  service  rules, 
although  up  to  a  generation  ago  the  selection  of 
patrolmen,  especially,  was  in  the  hands  of  the  head 
of  the  department  or  the  mayor  and  was  on  a 
spoils  basis.  The  application  of  civil  service  rules 
to  the  police  department  began  in  1883  with  the 
passage  of  the  New  York  law.  Under  the  present 
rules  the  candidate  must  be  a  citizen  and  must  be 
indorsed  by  four  persons  of  good  character  not 
saloon-keepers;  he  must  submit  to  a  physical  ex- 
amination to  determine  whether  he  is  of  sound  body 
and  proper  physique  and  to  a  mental  examination 
which  involves  some  knowledge  of  the  geography 
and  government  of  the  city  and  a  test  of  arithmetic 
and  memory.  He  must  have  a  minimum  height  of 
five  feet  eight  inches. 


234  THE  MODERN  CITY 

In  some  smaller  cities  where  civil  service  rules 
are  not  in  effect  certain  qualifications  are  made  a 
prerequisite  for  appointment,  as  in  Fort  Worth, 
where  the  applicant  must  be  able  to  read  and  wr 
must  have  been  a  resident  of  the  city  and  State  for 
two  years;  must  never  have  been  convicted  of  a 
crime;  must  be  between  twenty-five  and  forty-five 
years  of  age,  at  least  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height, 
and  weigh  not  less  than  160  pounds.  In  addition 
the  candidate  must  be  of  good  health,  steady  habits, 
and  moral  character. 

The  unit  of  police  administration  is  generally  the 
precinct,  in  charge  of  a  captain.  Although  there 
are  inspectors  over  him  and  detectives  working  with 
him,  the  captain  is  mainly  responsible  for  the  main- 
tenance of  order  in  his  district  and  for  the  execution 
of  policies  formulated  by  the  head  of  the  depart- 
ment. Under  the  captain  are  several  platoons  of 
rolmen,  each  in  charge  of  an  officer  called  a 
roundsman,  who  conducts  the  platoon  to  its  poet 
and  inspects  its  sen-ice.  The  roundsman  has  him* 
self  generally  risen  from  the  rank  of  patrolman  by 
merit. 

Administrative  Control. 

( hit  f  of  police  is  usually  appointed  and  re- 
movable by  the  mayor  and  is,  in  the  United  States, 
cither  a  layman  or  a  professional.  The  appoint- 
ment of  a  lay  chief  is  urged  by  some  on  the  ground 
that  under  a  professional  chief  a  narrow  code  of 
disciplinary  ethics  is  apt  to  pervade  the  force,  in- 
volving a  lack  of  sympathy  with  or  disregard  of  the 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     235 

rights  of  citizens;  and  this  has  usually  been  true. 
The  objection  to  the  choosing  of  a  layman  for  this 
post  is  that  such  a  choice  often  brings  in  profes- 
sional politicians,  who  use  the  department  as  a 
source  of  revenue,  and,  even  if  this  is  not  the  case, 
the  lay  head  is  too  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  crim- 
inals and  the  duties  of  the  police  to  be  effective, 
while  his  term  is  too  short  to  allow  him  to  acquire 
the  necessary  knowledge. 

In  regard  to  this  shortness  of  term  and  the  dis- 
ability which  it  inflicts  upon  the  head  of  the  depart- 
ment, General  Theodore  Bingham,  former  police 
commissioner  of  New  York  City,  says: 

"As  the  policeman  is  in  office  for  life,  he  very 
logically  looked  past  both  the  mayor  and  me  and 
made  his  allegiance  and  took  his  orders  from  the 
only  permanent  influence  concerned — the  politician. 
I  could  not  at  that  time  even  choose  the  leading 
officers  of  the  department  when  I  wanted  to  carry 
out  my  orders.  I  was  in  command  of  a  body  of 
men  who  by  the  logic  of  their  position  were  forced  to 
take  their  final  orders  from  some  one  else." 

This  leads  to  the  problem  of  whether  the  power 
of  appointment  and  removal  should  be  lodged  in 
the  mayor  or  in  a  commission,  both  of  which 
forms  of  administration  have  been  tried.  The  board 
form  was  at  first  chosen,  beginning  with  the  estab- 
lishment of  New  York  City's  modern  police  force 
in  1857.  Its  advantages  were  believed  to  consist 
in  the  provision  for  representatives  of  both  parties 
on  the  board,  who  would  serve  as  checks  upon  each 


236  THE  MODERN  CITY 

other  to  prevent  corruption.  But  abuses  developed 
which  indicated  that  instead  of  withholding  each 
other  the  two  parties  combined  to  divide  the  pos- 
sible spoils,  while  in  case  of  complaints  responsi- 
bility was  shifted  As  a  consequence  the  board 
system  has  generally  been  abandoned  in  favor  of 
the  more  highly  centralized  form  of  a  single  com- 
missioner appointed  by  the  mayor,  in  whom,  what- 
ever the  possibilities  of  political  influence,  respon- 
sibility is  directly  concentrated.  And  concentration 
of  responsibility  is  generally  reoogniied  as  the  first 
essential  to  efficient  administration. 

Fire  and  Health  Departments. 

The  administration  of  the  fire  department  is 
usually  in  the  hands  of  a  layman  appointed  by  the 
mayor,  and  under  him,  as  actual  executive,  is  an 
expert  chief.  The  fire,  like  the  police,  department 
is  organized  on  a  semi-military  basis,  with  brigades 
and  officers. 

The  board  form  of  administration,  generally  found 
to  be  less  efficient  in  the  police  department,  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  commonly  used  for  the  health  de- 
partment. This  is  due  to  the  broad  powers  and 
scope  of  this  department,  which  is  inevitably  closely 
correlated  with  the  public  schools,  with  factory 
inspection,  tenement-house  and  police  administra- 
tion. New  York  City  attempts  to  represent  this 
correlation  of  responsibilities  and  executive  powers 
by  creating  a  board  with  wide  legislative  functions, 
empowered  to  enact  ordinances  "for  the  secur 
of  life  and  health  in  the  city  not  inconsistent  with 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     237 

the  Constitution  or  laws  of  the  state,"  and  con- 
sisting of  the  commissioner  of  health,  who  is  the 
responsible  executive  officer,  the  police  commis- 
sioner, and  the  health  officer  of  the  port. 

Suggested  Police  Reforms. 

Various  reforms  for  the  improvement  of  the  po- 
lice have  been  suggested.  When  the  complaint  is 
directed  at  the  failure  to  apprehend  criminals  the 
plea  is  made  that  the  force  is  too  small.  There  is 
no  definite  standard  of  the  number  of  patrolmen 
needed  in  proportion  to  population,  and  it  is  claimed 
that  we  have  relatively  fewer  policemen  in  this 
country  than  in  Europe.  And  the  reform  usually 
urged  by  an  administration  under  the  necessity  of 
shifting  the  responsibility  for  increased  crime  is  an 
increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  force. 

Another  suggested  reform  is  more  generous  pro- 
vision for  "shoo  flies,"  or  plain-clothes  detectives, 
to  work  by  the  side  of  patrolmen,  inspectors,  and 
captains,  without  their  knowledge,  and  report  on 
their  performance  of  duty.  Mr.  McAdoo,  of  New 
York,  says  of  this  proposal : 

"The  work  of  the  spy  is  detestable,  and  the  class 
of  men  who  are  willing  to  degrade  themselves  by 
performing  these  duties  is  such  that  but  little 
credence  can  be  placed  upon  their  testimony.  It 
injures  the  morale  of  the  force  when  favored  pa- 
trolmen are  sent  out  in  citizen's  clothing  to  spy  upon 
other  policemen  of  the  force.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
it  is  good  policy  to  allow  superior  officers  to  spy 
upon  the  force.  It  is  undoubtedly  bad  policy  to 
encourage  citizens  to  spy  upon  them." 


238  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Another  suggestion  is  the  establishment  of  stricter 
State  supervision.  The  instability  of  our  police 
administration  as  compared  with  the  stability  of 
European  state  appointed  or  supervised  police 
forces  is  cited,  and  the  claim  is  made  that  a  strong, 
unified,  and  responsible  police  force  can  only  be 
secured  by  thorough  State  organization  and  con- 
trol. Such  State  control,  however,  seems  to  be 
distasteful  to  American  cities,  although  the  police 
force  in  the  metropolitan  district  of  Boston  is  in 
the  hands  of  a  commiaaioaer  appointed  by  the 
governor. 

Institutional  Evils  Which  Demoralize  the  Police. 

There  are  others  who  insist  that  the  evils  of  police 
administration,  the  corruption  and  the  blackmail, 
cannot  be  corrected  either  by  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  patrolmen,  by  spy  or  "shoo-fly"  super- 
<>n,  or  by  State  control.  These  reforms  are 
directed  at  the  symptoms  rather  than  at  the  disease 
itself — a  disease  which  inheres  in  the  obligation  on 
the  part  of  the  police  to  enforce  laws  enacted  by 
the  State  directed  against  the  saloon,  gambling, 
and  the  social  evil.  It  is  these  laws,  aimed  at  the 
control  of  morals,  that  <r\  where  demoralise  the 
police,  not  only  in  this  country  but  to  a  lesser 
tent  abroad.  And  this  is  the  crux  of  the  police 
problem.  These  laws  generally  prohibit  and  make 
a  penal  offence  of  gambling  and  prostitution;  they 
prohibit  the  sale  of  liquor  in  a  saloon  on  Sunday 
and  provide  for  many  other  regulations  directed 
against  such  evils.  In  the  first  place  these  laws 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     239 

are  not  enacted  by  the  city  but  by  the  State;  they 
are  uniform  as  to  all  cities,  irrespective  of  their  size 
or  population,  and  are  usually  out  of  harmony  with 
the  public  opinion  and  conditions  which  they  aim 
to  correct.  Many  things,  too,  are  specified  as  crimes 
or  misdemeanors  which  urban  populations  do  not 
regard  as  such;  in  fact,  a  large  part  of  our  city  popu- 
lation looks  upon  offences  against  the  excise  laws 
as  so  purely  personal  to  the  individual  that  the  law 
has  no  right  to  intervene  except  to  suppress  such 
acts  as  become  a  nuisance  to  the  good  order  of  the 
community. 

The  City  and  the  Saloon. 

Of  the  population  of  New  York  80  per  cent,  is 
either  foreign-born  or  of  foreign  extraction.  Tens 
of  thousands  of  visitors  come  to  the  city  each  day. 
A  large  percentage  of  the  foreign-born  look  upon 
the  restaurant  and  the  saloon  as  no  more  essentially 
evil  than  any  other  private  business  and  the  laws 
which  attempt  to  close  them  on  Sunday  as  an  intru- 
sion into  their  personal  rights.  Millions  of  working 
men,  too,  have  no  place  of  rest  or  recreation,  no  other 
opportunity  for  social  contact  with  their  fellows, 
for  club  or  labor-union  meetings,  than  the  saloon. 
And  all  of  these  classes  protest  against  the  attempt 
to  treat  the  saloon  as  a  criminal  or  a  quasi-criminal 
institution.  In  addition,  the  laws  directed  against 
gambling  and  prostitution  are  in  many  instances 
difficult  of  enforcement  or  not  adjusted  to  easy  ad- 
ministration. 

The  police  problem  is  a  product  of  these  con- 


THE  MODERN  CITY 

ditions.  Officers  are  tempted  to  permit  evasions  of 
a  State  law  which  thoy  are  sworn  to  enforce  and  in 
whose  wisdom  or  justice  a  large  part  of  the  commu- 
nity does  not  believe.  There  is  every  reason  for 
tolerance;  little  reason  for  rigid  enforcement  of  the 
law.  Violation  of  the  law  thus  becomes  a  special 
illegal  privilege  in  which  the  patrolman  and  the  boss 
are  able  to  barter  with  protected  vice.  That  these 
privileges  are  very  valuable  is  evidenced  by  the  re- 
cent testimony  in  New  York  that  $2,000,000  a  year 
is  paid  by  protected  interests  for  privileges  which  the 
police  have  no  legal  right  to  grant. 
Police  Corruption. 

Corruption  is  paid  in  large  and  small  amounts- 
direct  ly  in  cash  to  the  patrolmen,  captains,  and 
inspectors  for  the  privilege  of  being  lei  alone,  and 
indinvtly  through  political  influence.  According  to 
McAdoo,  of  New  York,  gambling  was  permitted 
in  that  city  because  the  leaden  of  parties  wanted 
to  use  the  pool-rooms  for  party  advantage.  When 
a  gambler  wanted  to  open  a  place  he  went  to  the 
leader  of  the  district  and  obtained  his  consent  by 
permitting  the  boss  to  employ  a  number  of  em- 
ployees in  the  pool-room  at  $5  a  day.  This  was 
only  one  of  many  forms  of  graft  fostered  by  the 
State  laws  against  these  evils. 

The  Excise  Question  and  Politics. 

The  corruption  started  by  the  saloon,  by  gam- 
bling and  the  social  evil,  runs  and  ramifies  in  many 
other  directions.  It  not  only  demoralizes  the 
police  force  but  identifies  the  underworld  with 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     241 

many  other  crimes  of  a  more  serious  nature.  In 
addition,  municipal  reform  is  confused  by  the 
injection  of  these  questions  into  politics.  Mayors 
are  elected  not  because  they  are  efficient  admin- 
istrators but  because  of  their  attitude  on  the  Sun- 
day-closing question,  on  whether  they  believe  in  a 
liberal  enforcement  of  the  laws.  These  conditions 
bring  the  saloon  into  politics;  the  fear  of  legisla- 
tion draws  them  to  the  legislature;  the  saloon- 
keepers of  the  city  are  organized  for  aggression  or 
protection  and  identify  themselves  with  any  party, 
group,  or  organization  which  will  offer  protection 
against  further  legislation. 

Mr.  Brand  Whitlock,  for  eight  years  Mayor  of 
Toledo,  says  of  these  conditions: 

"The  insistent  confusion  of  vice  with  crime  has 
not  only  had  the  effect  of  fostering  both  but  is  the 
cause  of  the  corruption  of  the  police.  Their  proper 
function  is  to  protect  life  and  property  and  this  the 
police  of  American  cities  perform  as  well  as  police- 
men anywhere.  But  when  by  a  trick  of  the  sec- 
tarian mind,  the  term  crime  is  made  to  include  all 
the  follies  and  weaknesses  and  vices  of  humanity, 
when  there  is  added  the  duty  of  enforcing  statutes 
against  a  multitude  of  acts,  some  of  which  only 
puritanical  severity  classes  as  crimes,  others  of 
which  are  regarded  by  the  human  beings  in  the  com- 
munity with  indifference,  tolerance  or  sympathy, 
while  still  others  are  inherent  in  mysterious  and 
imperative  instincts  which  balk  all  efforts  at  general 
control,  the  task  becomes  wholly  impossible  and 
beyond  human  ability. 

"The  police  know  it  and  everybody  knows  it. 


242  THE  MODERN  CITY 

And  it  is  difficult  to  induce  men  to  take  much  in- 
terest in  punishing  acts  their  own  consciences  do 
not  condemn."  * 

Difficulties  of  Reform. 

The  maintenance  of  a  truly  efficient  and  honest 
police  force  will  remain  a  very  difficult  problem  until 
the  department  is  free  from  contact  with  these  evils, 
which  freedom  can  be  best  secured  by  transferring 
the  control  of  the  saloon  evil,  of  gambling,  and  of 
other  social  problems  from  the  State  to  the 
itself.  And  were  the  city  free  to  control  them  by 
administrative  acts,  as  the  health  of  the  com- 
munity is  now  protected,  were  it  able  to  adjust  its 
ordinances  or  official  decrees  to  conditions  as  they 
arise,  then  it  would  be  possible  to  work  out  by 
experiment  solutions  which  would  harmonise  pre- 
vailing opinion  with  the  laws  and  at  the  same  time 
enable  public  opinion  to  hold  the  mayor  and  council 
to  responsibility  for  the  morals  of  the  city,  which  is 
not  now  possible  when  many  of  the  laws  have  no 
such  support  or  are  impossible  of  enforcement. 
This  would  not  involve  an  open  town.  Pi: 
opinion  has  reached  a  point  that  would  not  tolerate 
that.  It  would,  however,  lead  to  the  enactment  of 
such  orders  as  would  free  the  police  from  constant 
temptation  and  would  enable  the  city  to  solve  the 
problem  in  an  intelligent  way. 

The  necessity  for  such  a  change  is  being  recog- 
nized by  the  many  proposals  for  the  creation  of 
special  moral  squads,  whose  sole  duty  is  the  enforce- 

Ymn  *  A,  Brmod  Whitlock,  p.  MS. 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     243 

ment  of  laws  and  ordinances  which  deal  with  these 
evils,  a  solution,  however,  which  does  not  meet  the 
difficulty  involved  in  the  lack  of  adjustment  of  State 
laws  to  local  public  opinion. 

Police  and  Other  Courts. 

Police  courts  are  an  integral  part  of  police  admin- 
istration. Their  jurisdiction  is  limited  to  misde- 
meanors and  petty  offences  which  generally  involve 
no  criminal  act.  The  mass  of  the  inhabitants  of 
a  city  know  no  other  justice  than  that  meted  out 
by  these  courts.  Two  methods  of  selecting  police 
magistrates  have  been  tried:  popular  election,  which 
has  resulted  in  grave  political  abuses  and  the  elec- 
tion of  men  under  the  control  of  the  political  boss, 
and  appointment  by  the  mayor. 

The  establishment  of  special  courts  for  certain 
classes  of  offenders  is  a  recent  and  valuable  devel- 
opment in  police  magistracy.  Among  these  special 
courts  are  night  courts  for  men  and  women,  domestic 
courts  for  the  settlement  of  family  troubles,  and 
juvenile  courts.  Juvenile  courts  have  been  estab- 
lished in  most  of  the  larger  cities.  The  maximum 
age  of  offenders  who  may  be  brought  before  the 
juvenile  court  is  about  sixteen  years,  though  it  dif- 
fers slightly  in  different  cities,  as  do  the  offences 
which  may  be  tried.  In  New  York  crimes  of  all 
kinds  except  capital  offences  may  be  tried  in  these 
courts;  in  Saint  Paul  all  violations  of  State  laws 
and  city  ordinances.  The  magistrates  of  children's 
courts  are  enjoined  to  consider  the  accused  child 
"as  not  on  trial  for  the  commission  of  a  crime  but 


244  THE  MODERN  CITY 

as  a  child  in  need  of  the  care  and  protection  of  the 
state."  In  New  York  the  magistrate  may  suspend 
the  trial  at  any  time  for  further  facts  or  to  make 
collateral  inquiries,  or  stop  the  proceedings  entirely 
and  treat  the  child  according  to  the  law  for  children 
not  having  proper  guardianship.  He  may  place 
the  child  under  probation  for  varying  lengths  of 
time  and  under  the  charge  of  a  probation  officer. 
Special  magistrates  for  the  hearing  of  children's 
cases  have  not  always  been  provided  for  by  law, 
although  experience  shows  that  special  qualifica- 
.s  and  training  are  necessary  for  the  discharge 
of  this  work.  The  New  York  law  provides  that 
justices  of  the  court  of  special  sessions  shall  from 
tin:.- 1<>  time  be  assigned  by  the  chief  justice  for  hear- 
ing and  disposal  of  children's  cases. 

The  Police  Policy  of  Cleveland. 

Thr  city  «.f  rirvrhmd,  Ohio,  has  worked  out  the 
most  comprehensive  police  policy  of  any  American 
city,  a  policy  which  has  freed  the  police  from 
corruption  and  bribery,  has  materially  reduced  vice 
and  crime,  and  humanized  the  correctional  institu- 
tion. \shirh  deal  with  all  non-criminal  offenders. 
The  policy  begins  with  the  golden-rule  or  com- 
mon-sense policy  of  police  administration  introduced 
by  Fred  Kohlcr,  for  many  yeare  chief  of  police. 
Under  this  policy  the  number  of  arrests  have  been 
reduced  to  about  one  fourth  the  number  made 
prior  to  the  change.  Chief  Kohler  said: 

"The  police  force  is  organized  for  the  prove: 
of  crime,  fur  the  capturing  of  criminals,  and  the  aid 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     245 

and  convenience  of  the  public;  not  for  the  purpose 
of  causing  the  weak,  the  thoughtless,  and  the  un- 
wise and  their  innocent  relatives  to  suffer  and  be 
disgraced. 

'  "The  Golden  Rule  or  Common  Sense  Policy,  in  a 
few  words,  is  one  that  aims  to  arrest  persons  only 
when  they  should  be  arrested."  \ 

Under  this  policy  arrests  for  drunkenness  and 
other  petty  offences  were  discontinued,  and  the 
number  of  arrests  reduced  from  31,736  in  1906  and 
30,418  in  1907,  when  the  old  custom  of  making 
indiscriminate  arrests  was  followed,  to  10,085  in 
1908,  6,018  in  1909,  7,185  in  1910,  9,516  in  1911, 
and  finally  to  7,774  in  1912.  One  police  court  with 
all  its  attache's  has  been  done  away  with  during 
this  time. 

The  "Golden-Rule"  Policy. 

Chief  Kohler's  idea  is  that  we  make  criminals  by 
indiscriminate  arrests,  by  making  men,  women,  and 
children  familiar  with  vice  and  crime  in  police 
stations,  and  thus  impair  their  self-respect.  "The 
police  have  been  instrumental  in  making  criminals/7 
says  Kohler.  "We  have  discouraged  men.  We 
have  driven  young  men  and  weak  men  to  the  haunts 
and  association  of  habitual  and  expert  criminals, 
who  have  taught  them  the  ideals  and  the  practices 
of  crime.  We  have  nourished,  we  have  not  pre- 
vented crime." 

Cleveland  has  followed  the  golden-rule  policy  of 
non-arrests  for  petty  offences  for  seven  years. 
The  instructions  given  to  the  police  captains  and 


246  THE  MODERN  CITY 

lieutenants  of  the  city  on  Christmas  Day,  1907, 
when  the  new  policy  was  inaugurated,  were  to  stop 
arresting  first  offenders  for  misdemeanors.  The 
police  were  to  warn  them  and  to  tell  them  the  law. 
If  there  was  a  disturbance  on  the  streets  or  a  neigh- 
borhood row,  the  police  were  to  learn  the  cause  and, 
if  the  trouble  was  trivial,  send  the  men  about  thrir 
business.  When  they  found  a  man  drunk  they 
were  to  send  him  home,  and  to  take  him  hon 
he  was  too  intoxicated  to  get  there  himself. 

Under  this  policy  it  ceased  to  be  a  matter  of  credit 
to  a  policeman  to  make  a  great  many  arrests;  what 
h<  Ips  his  record  is  the  right  kind  of  arrests,  on  com- 
petent evidence,  and  where  conviction  can  be  se- 
cured. The  patrolman  is  given  large  discretion  in 
the  performance  of  his  duties;  be  coses  to  be  a 
prosecutor  and  may  become  the  friend  of  the  sup- 
posed offender. 

Corruption  of  the  police  has  not  followed  the  new 
policy.  "Blackmail  only  exists,"  says  KohltT, 
"when  the  law  says  one  thing  and  the  police  permit 
its  evasion.  The  way  to  put  an  end  to  blackmail 
on  the  part  of  the  police  is  for  the  chief  openly  to 
take  the  community  into  his  confidence." 

The  Control  of  Vice. 

Vice,  prostitution,  and  the  saloon  have  been 
controlled  by  a  similar  policy  of  administrative  as 
opposed  to  court  action.  Orders  were  issued  by  the 
mayor  which  the  police  were  instructed  to  enforce. 
These  orders  were  aimed  at  the  artificial  tempta- 
tions and  allurements  which  vice  throws  about  itself. 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     247 

Stalls  in  saloons  were  prohibited,  as  was  the  sale  of 
liquor  in  brothels.  No  music  was  permitted  in 
saloons  except  by  special  authority,  which  was 
refused  if  those  in  the  neighborhood  protested. 
Gambling  places  were  forcibly  entered  and  the  para- 
phernalia destroyed  on  the  spot.  And  where  en- 
trance could  not  be  secured  a  patrolman  was  sta- 
tioned in  front  of  the  place  to  take  the  name  of 
every  person  who  entered.  The  same  procedure  was 
adopted  in  the  case  of  other  objectionable  places 
which  refused  to  abide  by  the  regulations  laid  down 
by  the  mayor. 

But  few  arrests  were  made,  for  it  was  found  that 
these  offenders  expected  periodic  fines  and  treated 
them  as  one  of  the  expenses  of  the  business.  But 
under  the  executive  orders  the  business  was  de- 
prived of  many  of  its  allurements  or  was  destroyed 
altogether.  It  was  not  claimed  that  vice  or  drink- 
ing was  stopped.  There  is  still  the  vice  found  in 
every  large  city,  but  it  seems  to  be  generally  agreed 
that  there  is  less  of  it  in  Cleveland  than  in  other 
large  cities. 

New  Ideals  of  Correctional  Administration. 

Cleveland's  ideas  of  correctional  administration 
do  not  stop  with  a  humanized  police  administration. 
The  city  concerns  itself  with  arrested  offenders, 
and  has  a  farm  of  2,000  acres  where  drunkards, 
vagabonds,  and  petty  offenders  of  various  kinds 
are  sent  to  be  given  a  new  chance.  Of  this  exper- 
imental farm  Doctor  Harris  R.  Cooley,  former 
director  of  charities  and  correction,  said  in  1908: 


248  THE  MODERN  CITY 

"We  have  no  guards;  we  have  no  stockade;  there 
is  no  one  about  the  place  who  carries  so  much  as  a 
stick  or  a  revolver.  We  trust  these  men,  and  be- 
cause we  trust  them  they  respect  the  trust.  .  .  . 
We  used  to  lock  these  men  up  in  the  workhouse  in 
the  city.  We  put  them  at  pulling  brushes,  a  labo- 
rious and  confining  work.  The  men  were  weak 
enough  when  they  came  to  us.  They  were  dissi- 
pated, unstrung,  and  for  various  reasons  unabl< 
resist  temptation.  We  kept  them  in  the  workhouse 
until  they  had  worked  out  their  sentence,  and  then 
turned  them  out  in  the  street  again.  Of  course, 
they  drifted  into  the  nearest  saloon.  Where  else 
could  they  go?  Confinement  had  weakened  th<  ir 
will  power  and  destroyed  their  physical  health,  so 
that  their  whole  nature  crave&a  stimulant.  Often 
they  were  back  to  us  within  twenty-four  hours. 
That  was  inevitable.  They  were  leas  fit  for  work 
than  when  they  came  to  us,  and  tln-v  were  hardened 
by  the  treatment  which  the  city  had  meted  out  to 
th'-m. 

stead  of  punishing  these  men  by  exacting  tasks 
for  \vh:  are  unMiii«-d.  we  now  put  them 

this  beautiful  farm.    They  live  out  of  doors.    Tl 
are  working  at  something  for  which  they  are  fitted. 
\\  e  have  work  here  for  a  generation  to  com* 
have  a  splendid  quarry  fr»m  which  we  can  Imild 
miles  of  roads  and  the  foundations  of  our  build- 
ings.   The  prisoner  goes  back  to  life  again,  able  to 
meet  the  temptations  which  the  city  offers.     And  a 
very  large  percentage  of  these  men  never  c« 
back.    But  better  even  than  that,  we  restore  their 
respect  and  confidence  in  themselves." 

And  Cleveland  has  gone  still  further  and  followed 
the  discharged  prisoner  in  an  effort  to  find  work 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     249 

and  a  place  for  him  again  in  the  world.  In  its 
department  of  charities  and  correction  the  city 
created  a  "Brotherhood  of  Prisoners/'  the  purpose 
of  which,  according  to  its  own  report,  is 


find  opportunities  for  employment  and  fur- 
nish to  released  prisoners  a  comfortable  home  until 
they  are  able  to  pay  their  own  way.  \  .  .  Under 
normal  conditions  of  employment,  the  Brotherhood 
men  themselves  nearly  pay  its  current  expenses. 
They  form  a  valuable  employment  bureau.  They 
are  on  the  lookout  for  jobs  for  other  members.  In 
seventeen  months,  during  more  prosperous  times, 
these  men,  who  by  some  are  regarded  as  worthless, 
paid  into  the  Home,  for  board  and  other  expenses, 
more  than  ten  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  which 
they  earned  by  honest  work  in  the  shops  and  fac- 
tories of  Cleveland." 

Vice  Prevention. 

All  this  is  part  of  a  larger  policy  of  prevention 
which  characterizes  Cleveland's  attitude  toward  the 
<#oor  and  unfortunate,  a  policy  which  grew  up  under 
the  inspiration  of  Tom  L.  Johnson,  Harris  R.  Cooley, 
and  the  present  mayor,  Newton  D.  Baker. 

Wholesome  opportunities  for  recreation  for  chil- 
dren as  well  as  adults  is  recognized  as  better  economy 
and  better  humanity  than  the  arrest  of  offenders. 
So  there  are  public  baths,  gymnasiums,  band  con- 
certs, carnivals,  school  contests,  organized  recrea- 
tion of  various  sorts  in  the  parks;  there  are  bathing 
beaches  and  open  spaces  without  "Keep  off  the 
grass"  signs.  A  juvenile  court  watches  over  the 
children  and  sends  them,  if  they  need  protection, 


250  THE  MODERN  CITY 

to  "Boyville,"  a  farm  colony  for  children  where 
there  are  opportunities  for  work  and  play  and  which 
carries  no  suggestion  of  a  prison. 

It  is  probable  that  Cleveland  has  worked  out  the 
most  comprehensive  programme  of  human  salvage, 
of  vice  prevention,  and  of  humane  administration 
of  any  city  in  America  if  not  in  the  world.  It  is 
based  on  the  assumption  that  the  majority  of  of- 
fences in  a  great  city  are  the  product  of  bad  environ- 
ment and  of  poverty;  that  vice  and  crime  are  social 
rather  than  personal  in  origin;  that  society  owes 
an  obligation  not  only  to  the  young  but  to  the 
old,  and  that  this  obligation  is  inadequately 
by  punishment.  The  same  policy  was  pursued  by 
Golden  Rule  Jones  and  Brand  Whitlock,  the  inde- 
pendent mayors  of  Toledo,  not  as  a  matter  of 
pediency  but  of  social  justice. 

Summary. 

Tin*  protection  of  the  community  through  the 
police,  fire,  and  health  departments  has  developed 
rapidly  in  recent  years.  These  problems  are  recog- 
nized as  social;  they  spring  from  the  close  living  of 
:>le,  the  nature  of  industry,  the  contagion  of  vice, 
dime,  and  disease. 

The  American  fire  department  is  r  1  > 

recent  years  the  health  service  has  undergone  great 
improvement.  The  police  department  has  always 
been  one  of  the  most  troublesome  agencies  of  the 
American  city.  Recently  public  opinion  has  come 
to  recognize  that  the  evUs  of  the  police  administra- 
tion are  largely  institutional;  they  cannot  be  cor- 
rected by  mere  changes  in  administrative  forms. 


POLICE,  FIRE,  HEALTH  PROTECTION     251 

They  can  only  be  corrected  by  such  reforms  in  our 
laws  as  will  protect  the  police  from  constant  temp- 
tation and  corruption  by  interests  seeking  illegal 
privileges  which  the  police  are  in  a  position  to  grant. 
These  privileges  are  for  the  most  part  related  to  the 
saloon,  gambling,  and  the  social  evil,  which  are  regu- 
lated by  State  laws,  toward  which  public  opinion  is 
either  defiant  or  unsympathetic.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  the  State  laws  regulating  the  saloon,  which 
are  not  approved  by  the  large  foreign-born  popula- 
tion of  our  cities,  accustomed  in  their  native  land  to 
a  liberal  Sunday  and  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
Recent  years  have  seen  great  progress  in  the  de- 
velopment of  probation  and  other  correctional  courts. 
The  juvenile  court  is  an  American  institution,  as  are 
the  night  courts  and  domestic  courts  of  New  York 
City.  Cleveland  has  carried  the  policy  of  humane 
police  administration  further  than  any  city  in  the 
world  through  a  policy  of  diminishing  the  number 
of  arrests  of  first  and  petty  offenders,  for  the  purpose 
of  reducing  needless  contact  with  police  courts  and 
jails  to  a  minimum.  In  addition,  new  ideals  of  cor- 
rectional administration  through  a  great  city  farm 
for  petty  offenders,  a  brotherhood  of  prisoners,  and 
a  children's  farm  colony  have  been  developed.  \ 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY 


ccessitate 


Nor  only  does  the  growth  of  the  city  IK 
protection,  it  involves  many  new  functions  and 
activities  not  needed  in  the  small  town  or  country 
district.  Under  rural  and  village  conditions  life 
is  organized  upon  individual  rather  than  co-opera- 
lines,  and  each  home  is  complete  in  itself. 
Tli'-  <-ity  changes  this.  Sewers  become  necessary. 
The  individual  well  is  condemned  because  of  the 
danger  of  disease.  Police,  fire,  and  health  depart- 
ments are  added,  as  are  many  other  agencies  for 
cleanliness  and  health  of  the  community. 

These  are  the  elementary  services  of  every 
Their   necessity   is   recognized   by   all.    And   the 
activities  of  the  average  American  city  end  with  the 
performance  of  these,  in  a  sense,  negative  functions. 

Aside  from  the  remunerative  business  undertak- 
ings and  the  planning  of  the  city  referred  to  in 
carl  here  is  a  great,  unoccupied  f 

of  social  activity  which  has  been  widely  developed 
on  the  continent  of  Europe  but  which  remains  almost 
untouched  in  this  country.  It  relates  to  the  < 
housekeeping,  a  phrase  very  common  in  Germany 
a  few  years  ago,  to  proper  community  living,  to 
economies  and  services,  to  protection  from  industrial 

conditions,  to  provision  for  the  unemployed  and 

Hi 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        253 

those  in  distress.  These  activities  are  for  the  most 
part  commercially  unproductive,  but  their  per- 
formance increases  the  efficiency  as  well  as  the 
wealth  and  happiness  of  the  community  beyond 
measure. 

It  is  in  this  field  that  we  may  expect  the  most 
rapid  immediate  development  of  the  American  city, 
for  here  there  are  few  privileged  or  propertied 
interests  to  protest,  here  are  countless  voluntary 
agencies  urging  action.  About  these  demands,  too, 
public  opinion  is  more  fully  developed  than  the 
ownership  of  the  public  service  corporations,  which 
involve  heavy  financial  expenditures  and  conflict 
with  powerful  vested  interests. 

Markets  and  Food  Supply. 

The  market  has  been  a  municipal  function  from 
earliest  times.  The  agora  of  Greece  and  the  mar- 
ket-places of  European  cities  were  the  centres  of  the 
towns.  Here  the  whole  community  came  to  trade. 
The  old  market-places  of  Munich,  Berlin,  Frank- 
fort, and  Brussels  still  remain  the  centres  of  the 
business  and  frequently  of  the  social  out-of-door 
life  of  the  community. 

Fifty  years  ago  public  markets  were  common 
in  America,  but  during  the  intervening  years  they 
have  either  been  neglected  or  have  been  permitted 
to  pass  into  private  hands.  Not  more  than  half 
of  the  cities  of  100,000  inhabitants  maintain  markets, 
while  of  the  cities  of  from  25,000  to  100,000  less  than 
one  third  own  them.  The  majority  of  these  are 
merely  centres  where  stalls  are  rented  to  farmers 


254  THE  MODERN  CITY 

and  gardeners.  The  low  cost  of  living  in  Baltimore 
is  generally  ascribed  to  the  public  markets,  of  which 
there  are  eleven  located  in  different  sections,  to 
which  the  housewives  come  to  make  their  daily 
purchases.  The  city  of  New  Orleans  has  four  such 
markets.  Through  these  the  marketmen  buy  di: 
from  the  producer  and  sell  direct  to  the  consumer. 
Some  Recent  Market  Projects. 

It  was  discovered  that  the  municipal  market  of 
Dubuque  reduced  the  cost  of  living  in  that  city  far 
below  what  it  was  in  any  other  city  in  the  Middle 
West,  and,  inspired  by  this  example,  Des  Moines 
opened  city  hall  square  and  the  near-by  streets,  to 
which  the  farmers  were  invited  to  come  to  sell  their 
produce.  The  city  required  the  display  of  cards 
showing  whether  the  sellers  are  gardeners  or  huck- 
sters. It  is  claimed  that  the  cost  of  produce  to 
city  buyers  has  been  reduced  by  the  opening  of  the 
market  by  approximately  50  per  cent.,  while  the 
fanners  receive  nearly  50  per  cent,  more  than  they 
were  formerly  paid  by  the  commission  men.1  Cl< 
land,  Ohio,  recently  opened  a  public  dock  as  a  fish 
market,  to  which  the  fishermen  were  invited  to  come 
and  sell  direct  to  the  consumer.  Retailers,  marl 
men,  aiul  individuals  were  thus  enabled  to  buy 
directly  from  fishermen  instead  of  through  the 
middlemen,  and  this  resulted  in  a  reduction  in  the 
price  of  fish  of  from  50  to  75  per  cent. 

The  recently  erected  West  Side  Market  of  Cleve- 

I8ee  "The  Municipal  Nfarket  Situation,"  by  D.  E.  Mowry, 
National  Municipal  Review  for  July,  1912,  p.  410. 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        255 

land  is  one  of  the  most  completely  equipped  markets 
in  America.  In  addition  to  facilities  for  a  retail 
market,  provision  is  made  for  an  ice  and  cold-storage 
plant  in  which  individual  farmers,  retailers,  and 
marketmen  can  store  their  produce  for  subsequent 
sale.  By  this  means  it  is  hoped  that  the  control 
of  prices  by  private  cold-storage  plants  will  be 
broken.  Cleveland  has  also  acquired  a  two-thou- 
sand-acre farm  upon  which  inmates  of  the  workhouse 
and  other  institutions  of  the  city  are  employed, 
from  which  it  is  planned  to  supply  the  institutions 
of  the  city  with  hay,  milk,  butter,  eggs,  and  other 
needed  supplies. 

Moved  by  the  appalling  death-rate  among  chil- 
dren, due  in  part  to  the  high  cost  of  milk,  a  group  of 
public-spirited  citizens  in  New  York  organized  a 
milk  committee,  which  maintained  stations  through- 
out the  city  at  which  pure  milk  was  sold  at  a  low 
price.  The  effect  on  the  death-rate  was  so  obvious 
that  in  1911  the  city  provided  for  fifty-two  milk 
stations  under  the  control  of  the  health  department. 

The  exposure  of  adulterated  food  has  led  to  quite 
general  inspection  of  the  food  supplies  of  cities  as 
well  as  of  weights  and  measures.  New  York  super- 
vises more  than  25,000  retail  and  wholesale  estab- 
lishments, including  bakeries,  groceries,  butcher 
shops,  and  confectionery  establishments,  as  well  as 
slaughter-houses  and  cold-storage  plants.  A  recent 
enforcement  of  the  law  led  to  the  destruction  of 
thousands  of  measures  and  scales  used  by  dealers 
who  gave  short  weight. 


256  THE  MODERN  CITY 

City  Forestry  Departments. 

Many  cities  have  established  forestry  depart- 
ments. Cleveland  has  maintained  such  a  bureau 
for  years,  for  the  planting,  inspection,  and  car« 
trees  and  for  the  beautification  of  the  city.  The 
forestry  commission  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  has  "< 
elusive  and  absolute  control  and  power  to  plant, 
set  out  and  care  for  shade  trees  in  any  of  the  public 
highways."  Trees  are  planted  in  the  streets  by 
order  of  the  commission  and  the  cost  is  paid  by 
special  assessments  on  the  abutting  real  estate. 
Individuals  may  only  plant  and  trim  their  trees 
with  the  approval  of  the  commission.  The  com- 
mission says: 

"Adequate  municipal  control  secures  for  the 

•  rt  planting,  pruning,  mulching,  spraying,  < 
When  these  have  been  left  to  private  initiative  tl 
have  either  been  entirely  neglected  or  the  operat 

-.pertly  performed.  The  treatment  of  trees  is 
an  expert  profession;  private  initiative  as  a  rule 
ignores  that  vital  fact;  intelligent  municipal  control 
accepts  the  fact  and  acts  upon  it." 

The  cities  of  Boston,  Springfield!  and  Fitchburg, 
Mass.,  have  city  foresters,  while  in  Texas  the  deputy 
state  commissioner  visits  cities  and  urges  their  co- 
operation with  the  State  forestry  department. 

Health  Inspection. 

In  no  department  of  administration  has  greater 
advance  been  made  than  in  sanitation  and  the  care 
of  the  health  of  the  community.  Particular  em- 
phasis has  been  laid  upon  the  supervision  of  schools 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        257 

and  school  children.  Of  27  cities  of  over  200;000 
inhabitants,  17  have  medical  inspection  under  the 
board  of  health,  and  10  under  the  board  of  educa- 
tion. The  object  of  this  inspection  is  to  prevent 
school  children  from  contracting  contagious  dis- 
eases, to  guard  their  eyesight  and  teeth  and  improve 
their  physical  well-being.  Studies  are  made  as  to 
fatigue  and  physical  exercises.  Children  are  exam- 
ined when  they  enter  school  by  doctors  employed 
by  the  board  of  health  or  the  board  of  education. 
Where  contagious  diseases  are  discovered,  children 
are  excluded  and  are  only  permitted  to  return  to 
school  after  the  danger  is  over.  In  case  of  non- 
contagious  diseases  the  parents  are  notified  to  see 
that  the  proper  care  is  administered.  School  nurses 
are  employed  by  many  cities,  whose  function  it  is  to 
follow  up  the  discoveries  of  teachers  or  physicians 
and  to  instruct  the  parents  and  pupils  in  home 
hygiene.  Minor  cases  are  treated  in  the  schools; 
proper  clothing,  food,  and  cleanliness  are  suggested. 
Parents  are  advised  as  to  the  free  medical  and  dental 
dispensaries  and  as  to  the  location  of  free  children's 
hospitals.  Eye  and  ear  tests  are  maintained  by 
many  schools.  By  this  means  the  home  is  brought 
in  close  touch  with  health  and  sanitary  administra- 
tion. 

Through  these  agencies  the  community  aims  to 
protect  the  oncoming  generation  from  eye  strain, 
diseases  of  the  nose  and  throat,  defective  hearing, 
bad  teeth,  poor  nutrition,  nervous  disorders,  ortho- 
pedic and  skin  diseases.  Records  are  kept  of  indi- 


258  THE  MODERN  CITY 

vidual  children  and  of  follow-up  activities  of  the 
nurse  and  school  physicians. 
The  Community  Doctor. 

"The  community  doctor"  has  taken  his  place 
along  with  the  police  and  firemen.  His  function 
is  preventive. 

Doctor  Goler,  the  health  commissioner  of  Roch- 
ester, says: 

"It  remains  for  us  to  construct  a  plan  for  the 
prevention  of  disease  in  children  and  for  the  care  of 
children  who  meet  with  the  accident  of  sickness. 
We  have  had  a  plan  for  filling  our  hospitals  and 
clinics  with  material;  here  is  a  scheme  for  emptying 
our  dispensary  waiting  rooms  and  keeping  our  hos- 
pital beds  for  emergency  patients.  It  is  a  scheme 
by  which  the  school  is  to  become  the  center  around 
which  all  health  activities  revolve.  The  babies 
are  to  grow  up  into  health  with  the  teacher  nuree 
who  takes  them  to  school.  If  parents  are  poor. 
tin -in  get  milk  and  advice  from  the  milk  stat 
in  the  school;  if  their  t«-,-th  need  attention,  let  them 
go  to  the  school  dentist  in  the  school;  if  they  i 
a  doctor  for  health,  let  them  have  advice  from  the 
school  doctor.  From  earliest  infancy  until  it  enters 
school  the  nurse  will  watch  the  child  grow  into  healt  h : 
will  instruct  th<>  mother  in  its  personal  hygiene,  and 
teach  the  mother  how  to  avoid  the  accident 


" 


This  policy  of  preventive  medicine  includes  the 
presence  of  a  school  physician,  a  dentist,  and  nuns 
in  each  school,  as  well  as  a  laboratory  of  hygiene. 
Physical  training  and  hygiene  are  to  be  made  an 
important  part  of  school  work,  with  apparatus  for 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        259 

bathing,  exercise,  and  gymnastics.  The  visiting 
nurse  is  the  connecting  link  between  the  school  and 
the  home.  She  comes  in  contact  with  unsanitary 
housing  or  factory  conditions  and  reports  them  to 
the  public  authorities.  A  trained  psychologist  in 
the  schools  would  study  backward,  deficient,  and 
defective  children. 

Dental  hygiene  has  made  great  progress  in  re- 
cent years.  Rochester  opened  a  free  dental  dis- 
pensary in  1910  with  forty  local  dentists  alternating 
in  attendance.  Within  two  months  the  work  be- 
came so  important  that  a  single  dentist  was  secured 
to  give  his  entire  time  to  it.  A  series  of  lectures  on 
oral  hygiene  were  provided  by  the  board  of  educa- 
tion. As  a  result  of  the  interest  aroused  a  second 
dispensary  was  opened. 

The  relation  of  defective  teeth  to  backward  school 
work  has  been  noted  in  various  cities.  In  New 
York  the  statement  has  been  made  by  Doctor  Luther 
H.  Gulick  that  decayed  teeth  retard  a  child's  work 
by  six  months.  In  1911  Philadelphia  opened  a 
free  dental  dispensary  for  poor  children  and  ar- 
ranged for  the  inspection  of  the  teeth  of  50,000 
school  children  by  a  voluntary  corps  of  local  den- 
tists. 

The  Changing  Point  of  View. 

This  is  by  no  means  a  complete  enumeration  of 
the  social  activities  of  the  American  city,  although 
the  achievements  are  as  yet  very  meagre.  Our  cities 
are  now  in  the  intermediate  stage  of  "cleaning 
up."  It  is  a  stage  between  that  which  preceded  it, 


260  THE  MODERN  CITY 

which  was  negative  and  extremely  individualistic, 
and  that  which  is  to  follow,  which  will  undoubtedly 
be  constructive,  physical,  and  semi-socialistic.  Pub- 
lic gambling,  horse-racing,  pool-selling,  and  betting 
have  been  pretty  completely  driven  from  our  cities, 
as  have  the  low  dance  halls  and  other  centres  of 
vice  so  common  a  few  years  ago.  A  few  cities  have 
opened  municipal  lodging-houses.  Wisconsin,  Ohio, 
and  New  York  have  made  provision  for  employment 
agencies.  There  is  a  nation-wide  movement  against 
vice  and  the  white-slave  traffic.  Public  hospitals 
are  being  erected  and  the  dependent  classes  are 
being  more  humanely  cared  for.  War  is  b< 
waged  on  contagious  disease,  on  inadequate  wa 
supplies  and  impure  milk,  while  the  public  concern 
for  the  health  of  the  community  has  materially  re- 
duced the  death-rate. 

Despite  this  progress  the  American  city  is  still 
far  less  advanced  than  the  European  city  in  its 
social  activities.  We  have  done  very  little  to 
solve  the  problem  of  labor  or  to  provide  for 
vicissitudes  of  industrial  employment.  There  is 
but  scant  provision  for  leisure  by  public  authorities, 
and  recreation  is  for  the  most  part  still  in  private 
hands.  Municipal  co-operation  is  as  yet  in  the 
repressive  rather  than  the  constructive  stage,  and 
we  must  look  to  Germany  for  examples  of  what  can 
be  done  in  this  larger  field  of  municipal  activity.1 

1  For  a  more  extended  study  of  the  general  subject,  tee  Municipal 
Government  in  Continental  Europe,  by  Doctor  Albert  Shaw,  and 
Bwopm  Cite*  at  Work,  by  the  author. 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        261 

The  German  City  Slaughter-Houses. 

The  slaughter-house  is  a  public  rather  than  a  pri- 
vate institution  in  almost  all  of  the  countries  of 
Europe  with  the  exception  of  Great  Britain.  Of  the 
50  largest  towns  of  Germany,  43  own  their  abattoirs 
and  require  that  all  meat  sold  in  the  city  shall  be 
slaughtered  in  them.  In  most  of  the  countries  of 
South  America,  in  Egypt,  even  in  the  Far  East,  the 
private  slaughter-house  has  been  superseded  by 
publicly  owned  abattoirs. 

The  slaughtering  of  cattle  under  public  super- 
vision is  required  as  a  sanitary  measure  for  the  pur- 
pose of  protecting  the  community  from  diseases 
prevalent  in  cattle.  It  also  protects  the  community 
from  monopoly  and  reduces  the  cost  of  living.  It 
is  assumed  that  the  food  supply  of  a  people  is  too 
important  to  be  left  in  private  hands.  Through 
public  slaughtering  the  meat  can  be  thoroughly  in- 
spected by  trained  veterinarians,  while  the  killing 
is  done  in  the  most  humane  way  possible.  By  the 
elimination  of  all  the  middlemen  there  remains  only 
the  butcher  between  the  farmer  and  the  housewife. 

Slaughtering  in  Germany  is  covered  by  an  im- 
perial law  and  a  code  of  rules  which  went  into  effect 
in  1903.  The  slaughter-houses  erected  by  the  cities 
are  models  of  cleanliness  and  of  architecture.  Many 
of  them  are  spacious  and  beautiful.  They  are 
usually  of  brick  or  cement  and  are  located  by  the 
railways  and  waterways.  Close  by  is  a  cattle  mar- 
ket to  which  the  cattle  are  brought  by  the  farmers 
and  to  which  the  butchers  go  to  make  their  pur- 


262  THE  MODERN  CITY 

chases.  The  charges  of  the  slaughter-houses  are 
fixed  at  a  point  which  will  pay  operating  expenses 
only  and  interest  on  the  investment. 

The  abattoir  of  the  city  of  Dresden — population 
500,000— was  erected  in  1910  at  a  cost  of  $4,260,000. 
It  covers  90  acres  of  land  and  includes  68  buildings. 
It  is  built  of  cement,  with  roadways  between,  so 
arranged  as  to  be  easily  cleaned  by  flushing-machines. 
The  most  fastidious  woman  could  visit  the  abattoir, 
and  visitors  are  encouraged  to  come  as  a  means  of 
insuring  cleanliness.  The  gates  through  which  one 
enters  are  like  those  of  a  public  park.  There  is  a 
spacious  hotel,  with  a  restaurant  and  post-office 
attached. 

The  slaughter-houses  of  Berlin  cost  approximately 
$5,000,000.  They  took  the  place  of  1,000  private 
slaughter-houses  formerly  scattered  over  the  city. 
The  Public  Market. 

The  consumer  is  still  further  protected  by  the 
public  market,  which  is  universal  in  Europe  and  has 
been  for  centuries.  In  addition  to  spacious  covered 
markets,  street  markets  are  maintained  which  are 
used  in  the  early  mornings.  In  Vienna  there  are  7 
enclosed  market  buildings  and  40  open-air  places. 
Antwerp  has  19  open  squares  and  places  and  2 
covered  markets.  Paris  has  one  of  the  most  extensive 
and  well-administered  market  systems  in  Europe. 
The  central  market,  or  Halles  Centrales,  is  a  whole- 
sale market  located  in  the  centre  of  the  city.  To  it 
the  produce  is  brought  by  railroads,  by  boats,  and 
by  vans,  where  it  is  classified  and  inspected  and 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        263 

then  sold  by  auction  or  by  bargain  and  sale  to 
retailers  and  consumers.  Scattered  throughout  the 
city  are  33  retail  markets  which  are  supplied  through 
the  central  market  or  by  direct  communication  with 
the  farmers.  Berlin  has  14  city  markets  in  substan- 
tial buildings,  which  are  so  located  as  to  receive  and 
distribute  the  incoming  farm  produce  to  the  city. 
Markets  are  used  not  only  for  the  sale  of  food,  but 
for  many  household  necessities. 

Ordinances  and  regulations  prevent  monopoly 
or  misleading  or  fraudulent  statements.  A  high 
standard  of  cleanliness  is  maintained,  while  the 
fees  are  fixed  according  to  the  business  and  the 
location  of  the  stalls. 

The  Parcel  Post. 

The  cost  of  living  in  Germany  is  still  further  con- 
trolled by  the  parcel  post,  which  is  operated  in 
connection  with  the  state-owned  railways.  Through 
it  the  farmer  is  brought  into  close  touch  with  the 
consumer.  Almost  anything  can  be  mailed  and 
at  a  very  low  cost.  The  hausfrau  receives  her  fresh 
vegetables,  poultry,  butter,  and  flowers  along  with 
the  morning  mail.  They  come  fresh  to  her  table 
from  a  country  village  perhaps  a  hundred  miles 
away.  Farmers  come  to  the  city  three  or  four 
times  a  year  to  solicit  individual  customers.  This 
makes  monopoly  in  food  products  impossible. 
There  is  no  waste  in  handling  by  half  a  dozen  agents, 
for  the  producer  and  consumer  meet  directly  as 
though  they  were  bartering  at  the  city  markets. 

It  has  been  stated  that  our  annual  waste  in  the 


264  THE  MODERN  CITY 

unnecessary  handling  of  fruit,  vegetables,  poult  ry, 
and  other  produce  approximates  $1,000,000,000. 
This  is  largely  due  to  inadequate  provision  for 
transportation,  to  private  markets,  cold-storage 
plants,  and  other  intermediaries  which  interpose 
between  the  producer  and  the  consumer  and 
which  depress  the  price  of  farm  produce  on  the  one 
hand  and  increase  the  price  to  the  consumer  on  the 
other.  Much  of  this  waste  is  saved  in  Germany 
through  the  public  ownership  of  the  railways  and 
the  express  business,  the  parcel  post,  the  public 
as  opposed  to  the  private  slaughter-house,  and  the 
use  of  these  agencies  and  the  public  markets  for 
the  elimination  of  all  unnecessary  waste  in  han- 
dling. 

Protecting  the  Worker. 

The  German  city  recognizes  the  helplessness  of 
the  working  classes  under  modem  industrial  con- 
ditions, and  has  worked  out  a  moat  comprehensive 
programme  for  their  protection.  Some  years  ago  the 
minister  of  the  interior,  speaking  in  the  Reichstag, 
outlined  the  policy  of  Germany  in  social  legislation. 
He  said: 

Germany  has  experienced  a  vast  industrial 
expansion  equalled  by  no  other  country  in  the 
world  during  the  same  time,  it  is  chiefly  due  to  the 
efficiency  of  its  workers.  But  this  efficiency  must 
in«  vitably  have  suffered  had  we  not  secured  to  our 
working  classes  by  the  social  legislation  of  recent 
years  a  tolerable  standard  of  living,  and  had  we  not 
as  far  as  was  possible  guaranteed  their  physical 
health." 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        265 

Social  and  industrial  insurance  is  provided  by 
the  state  and  is  compulsory  against  accident,  sick- 
ness, invalidity,  and  old  age.  The  income  collected 
by  all  of  these  forms  of  insurance  amounted  in  1909 
to  $214,856,650,  of  which  the  employers  contributed 
$98,312,000  and  the  employees  $81,414,000.  The 
disbursements  for  the  year  amounted  to  $167,592,- 
770. 

Insurance  against  sickness  has  existed  since  1884, 
and  is  provided  for  industrial  workers  whose  wages 
are  below  $500  a  year.  The  insurance  amounts  to 
about  half  the  daily  wages  of  the  insured.  Sick 
benefits  continue  for  not  more  than  twenty-six  weeks, 
and  the  administration  of  the  funds  is  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  working  people  and  the  employers. 
Employers  are  bound  to  provide  insurance  against 
accident,  while  the  worker  is  given  a  pension  during 
his  old  age. 

Preventive  Medicine. 

Growing  out  of  the  insurance  legislation,  a  nation- 
wide programme  of  preventive  medicine  has  been  de- 
veloped. The  accumulated  insurance  reserves,  which 
run  into  the  millions,  are  used  to  erect  hospitals, 
sanatoriums,  and  convalescent  homes.  The  hos- 
pitals in  Germany  are  almost  all  public  instead  of 
private.  In  1897  there  were  only  3,334  wage- 
earners  cared  for  in  institutions  of  this  sort,  while 
twelve  years  later  the  number  had  grown  to  42,232. 
In  twelve  years  272,000  patients  had  been  treated. 
As  a  consequence  the  death-rate  from  tuberculosis 
fell  from  23.08  per  10,000  during  the  four  years 


266  THE  MODERN'  CITY 

from  1895  to  1899  to  18.45  per  10,000  during  the 
period  from  1905  to  1909. 

Germany  leads  the  world  in  the  protection  of  the 
health  and  lives  of  its  people.  Speaking  of  this 
policy  a  report  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  United  States 
Bureau  of  Labor  for  1912  says:1 

"The  marvellous  results  achieved  in  the  German 
Empire  through  the  intelligent  co-ordination  of 
public  and  private  agencies  enlisted  in  the  effort  to 
reduce  the  mortality  from  tuberculosis  to  a  min- 
imum entitles  the  German  experiment,  as  the  first 
and  most  successful  of  its  kind,  to  the  admirat 

•hr  entire  civilized  world.  \\Vth»-r  what  has 
been  done  has  paid  for  itself  in  a  strict  financial 
sense  is  wholly  secondary  to  the  social  results  which 
have  been  achieved,  and  which  have  unquestionably 
conferred  an  infinite  amount  of  good  upon  the 
German  people  engaged  in  German  industry  in 
successful  competition  with  the  economically  more 
advantageously  situated  wage-earners  of  many  oth<  r 
lands.  From  the  social,  economic  and  medical 
points  of  view  the  treatment  and  care  of  tuberculous 
wage-earners  in  Germany  is  a  subject  well  deserving 
of  intrlli-.'nt  and  sympathetic  study  as  a  distr 
contribution  to  th««  i  ivilization  of  the  present  time," 

The  Workless  Worker. 

Employment  agencies  and  lodging-houses  in  the 
United  States  are  for  the  most  part  in  private 
hands.  In  Germany  they  are  public,  or  under 
public  control.  There  are  upward  of  four  hundred 
labor  exchanges  in  Germany,  which  each  year  find 
places  for  approximately  a  million  men  and  women 
in  all  kinds  of  employments.  These  exchanges  are 

1  Can  of  Tubcrcubu*  Wagt  Banun  to  Om  **•*$. 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        267 

universally  used  by  employers  and  employees. 
They  are  designed  to  minimize  the  waste  involved 
in  unemployment.  When  the  labor  market  is  con- 
gested in  one  place,  the  exchange  distributes  labor 
to  some  other  section  where  it  is  needed.  An  at- 
tempt is  being  made  to  utilize  these  agencies  to 
satisfy  the  demand  for  men  upon  the  farms  during 
the  harvest  season. 

The  labor  exchange  of  Berlin  occupies  a  large  four- 
story  building  in  the  heart  of  the  city.  On  the  first 
floor  is  a  great  hall  which  seats  1,400  people,  while 
other  halls  accommodate  skilled  artisans  and  women 
workers.  The  building  contains  a  buffet,  where 
food  is  sold  at  a  trifling  sum.  There  are  tailors  and 
cobblers  employed  by  the  exchange,  who  make  re- 
pairs at  an  insignificant  charge.  There  are  shower- 
baths,  and  free  dispensaries,  and  medical  inspection 
bureaus. 

Cities  also  maintain  municipal  lodging-houses. 
These,  too,  protect  the  wandering  worker.  There 
are  nearly  five  hundred  such  lodging-houses  in  Ger- 
many, which  contain  20,000  beds.  They  lodge  over 
2,000,000  persons  a  year,  of  whom  the  majority 
are  paying  guests.  For  the  sum  of  twelve  cents  the 
worker  obtains  lodging  and  breakfast,  or  if  he  has 
no  money  he  can  work  four  hours  for  them. 

In  connection  with  the  lodging-houses  there  are 
branches  of  the  municipal  savings-bank,  while  the 
labor  exchanges  are  operated  in  close  connection 
with  them. 

As  compared  with  this  policy,  the  State  Excise 
Commissioner  of  New  York  says  that  during  the 


268  THE  MODERN   CITY 

winter  of  1914  there  were  between  60,000  and  100,000 
homeless  men  and  women  who  found  shelter  on 
winter  nights  either  in  the  rear  rooms  of  saloons  or 
in  lodging-houses  where  liquor  is  sold.  "The  agents 
of  the  department."  the  report  says,  "found  that  in 
the  rear  rooms  of  certain  saloons  large  numbers  of 
homeless  men  slept  all  night  in  chairs  or  on  the 
floor.  The  department  then  sent  its  agents  to 
twenty  or  thirty  places  in  that  district  and  notified 
th«-  proprietors  to  close  promptly  at  one  o'clock  in 
th<  morning.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  none  of 
homeless  evicted  from  their  shelter  found  oth<  r 
places  to  sleep  that  night. 

The  city  has  but  one  municipal  lodging-house 
with  accommodations  for  768  persons,  while  one 
hundred  times  that  number  were  shelterless. 

Unemployment 

To  some  extent  cities  provide  distress  or  emergency 
work  during  hard  times.  Many  men  are  out  of 
work  during  the  winter — while  constant  changes  in 
machine  industry  dislodge  many  others  who  can- 
not immediately  find  employment.  The  city  rccog- 
ni/.es  this  fact  and  provides  outdoor  work  for  those 
temporarily  in  distress,  while  contractors  are  fre- 
<  juently  required  to  employ  local  men  so  as  to  relieve 
expenditures  for  charity.  The  theory  of  such  laws, 
according  to  the  American  consul  in  Zurich,  Swit- 
zerland, is  as  follows: 

"The  indigent  unemployed  are  dealt  with  as  an 
economic  (juestion.  The  Swiss  act  upon  the  theory 
that  the  man  who  is  unemployed  is,  if  left  to  him- 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        269 

self,  prone  to  become  unemployable;  and  that  for 
a  community  to  allow  anyone  of  its  members  ca- 
pable of  work  to  remain  unemployed  is  public  waste, 
for  the  reason  that  as  soon  as  he  becomes  a  subject 
of  charity  he  is  a  tax  upon  the  community,  which 
has  to  support  not  only  the  individual  but  also  those 
dependent  upon  him." 

Pawn-shops  have  been  a  public  institution  in  Ger- 
many for  centuries.  They  are  administered  by  the 
city  on  a  business  basis,  the  rate  of  interest  being 
from  1  to  2  per  cent,  a  month.  Many  small  trades- 
men use  the  pawn-shop  as  a  bank  of  discount. 

Municipal  savings-banks  have  also  existed  from 
early  times.  The  rate  of  interest  paid  is  usually  3  per 
cent.,  the  funds  being  invested  for  the  most  part  in 
public  securities.  Branch  offices  are  scattered  all 
over  the  city  to  encourage  their  use  as  widely  as  pos- 
sible. Inasmuch  as  the  banks  are  administered  by 
the  city  at  practically  no  expense,  the  depositors 
receive  the  full  return  realized  from  their  money. 

Labor  Courts. 

Cities  realize  that  the  workers  are  at  a  disadvan- 
tage in  legal  controversies  with  their  employers  and 
have  established  special  courts  for  the  settlement 
of  disputes  of  an  industrial  nature.  In  these  courts 
the  employment  of  lawyers  is  discouraged;  the 
fees  are  very  small  and  the  decisions  are  speedy. 
A  large  percentage  of  the  cases  are  disposed  of  with- 
out litigation.  The  court  is  made  up  of  employers 
and  employees  rather  than  of  trained  lawyers,  and 
each  class  elects  its  own  representative. 


270  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Cities  supply  many  other  services  for  the  poor. 
There  are  floating  bath-pavilions  upon  the  water- 
fronts, while  all-the-year-round  bath-houses  are  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  city.  Munich  has  a  great 
central  municipal  bath-house,  which  provides  Turk- 
ish and  Russian  baths  and  contains  an  immense 
swimming-pool.  Pure  milk  is  sold  to  the  poor  at 
cost.  There  are  farm  schools  out  in  the  country 
for  anaemic  and  subnormal  children  as  well  as  con- 
valescent homes  to  which  persons  are  sent  after 
hospital  treatment.  Cities  loan  money  to  working 
men  desirous  of  building  homes.  They  buy  and 
land  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  private  land 
speculation  and  making  home  ownership  easy. 

Poor  Relief. 

Relief  work  in  Germany  is  administered  by  the 
city  directly  rather  than  by  private  charities.  In- 
door institutional  relief  is  discouraged  and  is  con- 
fined to  the  sick,  the  infirm,  and  the  homeless.  The 
German  city  has  adopted  the  so-called  Elberfeld 
system,  by  which  the  poor  are  cared  for  in  the  home 
rather  than  in  the  public  institution.  The  idea 
underlying  this  is  to  preserve  the  family  life  and  the 
economic  independence  of  the  persons  assisted. 
•  f  is  administered  by  a  large  number  of  volun- 
tary workers  who  are  assigned  to  different  sections 
of  the  city,  acting  under  the  direction  of  a  com- 
mittee of  the  town  council  and  one  of  the  paid 
officials  of  the  city. 

Cities  maintain  public  physicians  who  give  gra- 
tuitous service  to  needy  persons,  as  well  as  munio- 


THE  CITY  AS  A  SOCIAL  AGENCY        271 

ipal  nursing  establishments  for  convalescent  inva- 
lids. 

The  health  of  children  is  carefully  watched.  On 
entering  school  the  child  is  examined  by  the  school 
physician,  to  ascertain  its  physical  condition.  The 
parents  are  advised  as  to  food  and  other  precau- 
tions to  be  taken  in  the  care  of  the  child.  If  the 
child  is  sick  or  anaemic  it  is  frequently  sent  to  schools 
in  the  country  for  recuperation.  School  buildings 
are  equipped  with  gymnasiums  and  are  surrounded 
with  playgrounds  provided  with  all  kinds  of  ap- 
paratus. Poor  children  often  receive  a  hot  break- 
fast in  winter. 

All  of  these  activities  of  the  German  city  are 
part  of  a  conscious  imperial  programme  of  human 
efficiency.  The  aim  is  to  conserve  the  health,  the 
strength,  and  the  working  capacity  of  all  classes. 
This  is  defended  on  military  as  well  as  industrial 
grounds.  The  nation  appreciates  that  to  rear  chil- 
dren to  manhood  and  then  permit  them  to  be  weak- 
ened by  disease,  bad  housing,  or  to  be  out  of  work, 
is  an  economic  loss  which  the  community  should 
aim  to  prevent. 
Summary. 

The  individualism  of  the  American  city  has  re- 
tarded the  development  of  social  activities  necessary 
to  a  well-ordered  municipal  life.  Only  within  recent 
years  have  we  begun  to  develop  markets  for  the  re- 
duction of  the  cost  of  living,  the  intensive  supervision 
of  the  health  of  the  people,  the  protection  of  the 
public  against  false  weights  and  measures,  the  sup- 
ply of  pure  food  and  milk,  and  other  measures  of  a 


272  THE  MODERN  CITY 

similar  sort.    It  is  probable  that  these  activities  will 
develop  rapidly  within  the  next  few  years. 

The  German  city  has  carried  activities  of  this  sort 
further  than  any  cities  in  the  world.  Almost  all 
cities  own  their  abattoirs,  in  which  all  meat  sold 
within  the  city  must  be  slaughtered.  Markets  are 
universally  owned  and  have  been  for  centuries, 
addition,  the  German  city  has  developed  many 
agencies  of  a  preventive  sort  for  the  protection  of  the 
workers.  Among  these  are  pawn-shops  and  savings- 
banks,  the  loaning  of  money  for  the  building  of 
homes,  employment  agencies  and  lodging-houses,  as 
well  as  emergency  work  in  hard  times.  In  addition, 
t!i"  state  provides  insurance  against  sickness,  dis- 
ease, accident,  and  old  age,  while  poor  relief  is  ad- 
ministered by  the  community  rather  than  through 
private  agencies  as  a  necessary  part  of  a  weU-ord< 
city  administration.  All  of  these  activities  have 
been  promoted  by  Germany  aa  part  of  a  conscious 
programme  of  human  efficiency.  No  cities  in  the 

Id  have  given  as  much  thought  and  considers ? 
to  the  protection  of  its  people  as  have  the  cities  of 
Germany. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM 

THERE  is  no  housing  problem  in  the  small  town. 
Each  family  occupies  an  individual  house  or  cottage, 
usually  with  a  garden  about  it.  There  are  no  ten- 
ements, no  slums,  no  congestion.  There  are  usually 
enough  houses;  rents  are  reasonable  and  the  tenant 
knows  his  landlord  personally. 

Conditions  are  not  very  different  in  the  city  of 
25,000  to  50,000  inhabitants.1  There  is  still  the 
individual  home.  The  tenement  has  not  appeared 
and  no  official  thought  is  given  to  the  subject  of 
building  regulations,  congestion,  or  the  housing  of 
the  people. 

When  the  community  reaches  a  quarter  or  a  half 
million  people,  however,  a  housing  problem  appears. 
Two,  three,  and  four  families  are  found  living  in  the 
same  house,  or  in  several  houses  built  upon  a  lot 
where  previously  there  was  but  one;  conditions  are 
unsanitary;  there  is  a  high  infantile  death-rate. 
Tuberculosis  is  prevalent  or  some  epidemic  of  dis- 
ease breaks  out,  which  awakens  the  community  to 
the  situation.  Surveys  in  a  dozen  cities  like  Cleve- 

1  Housing  conditions  in  the  mill  towns  of  New  England  and  the 
coal-mining  towns  of  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  and  else- 
where are,  however,  in  their  own  way  almost  as  bad  as  in  the  large 
cities. 

273 


274  THE  MODERN  CITY 

land,  Washington,  and  Buffalo  disclosed  conditions 
which  in  their  way  were  quite  as  bad  as  those  of 
New  York  or  Chicago. 

The  Tenement  and  the  Slum. 

When  the  city  reaches  metropolitan  proportions 
the  tenement  appears.  The  individual  house  is 
torn  down  and  three,  four,  five,  and  six  story 
ements  are  erected.  The  garden  is  gone,  while 
every  inch  of  available  space  is  built  upon.  Only 
the  smallest  possible  area  has  been  left  for  light  and 
air. 

Tenement-houses  in  New  York  occupy  from  70 
to  90  per  cent,  of  the  lot  area.  Twenty  families 
are  crowded  upon  a  spot  where  a  generation  before 
there  was  but  one.  Whole  families  live  in  two  or 
three  room  tenements,  into  many  rooms  of  v, ' 
th"  sun  never  enters.  Frequently  boarders  are 
added  to  eke  out  the  rent.  The  plumbing  is  bad. 
The  bathroom  is  a  luxury  enjoyed  by  but  few.  1 
washing,  ironing,  cooking,  eating,  sleeping,  the  rear- 
ing of  children  and  care  of  the  sick — one  or  two  rooms 
suffice  for  it  all. 

i  -lor  these  conditions  there  can  be  no  privacy 
and  little  family  life.  Millions  have  become  cliff- 
dwellers,  ready  to  move  on  a  moment's  notice;  quite 
frnjurntly  a<vust<»iiir<l  t«>  eviction  f»r  th<'  non- 
payment of  rent.1  Almost  everybody  is  a  tenant, 
for  home-ownership  is  out  of  the  question.1  The 


1  The  erictkxM  in  New  York  City  for  the  Doo-payment  of  noli 
are  estimated  at  5,000  a  month  or  60,000  a  year. 
•See  Chapter  IV,  p.  40. 


THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM  275 

landlord  is  sometimes  a  corporation,  almost  always 
an  unattainable,  unknown  person.  An  agent  col- 
lects the  rents,  which  constantly  tend  to  rise.  This 
means  smaller  rooms,  diminishing  comfort,  vanish- 
ing family  life.  In  an  incredibly  short  time  great 
sections  of  the  city  are  close  packed  with  people, 
many  of  them  in  rooms  far  less  sanitary  than  the 
barns  or  outhouses  of  the  small  towns. 

Mr.  Robert  W.  de  Forest,  the  first  tenement  com- 
missioner under  the  Tenement  House  Law  of  New 
York,  describes  conditions  in  that  city  ten  years 
ago  as  follows:1 

"Tenement  conditions  in  many  instances  have 
been  found  to  be  so  bad  as  to  be  indescribable  in 
print:  vile  privies  and  privy  sinks;  foul  cellars  full 
of  rubbish,  in  many  cases  garbage  and  decompos- 
ing fecal  matter;  dilapidated  and  dangerous  stairs, 
plumbing  pipes  containing  large  holes  emitting  sewer 
gas  throughout  the  houses;  rooms  so  dark  that 
one  cannot  see  the  people  in  them;  cellars  occupied 
as  sleeping  places;  dangerous  bakeries  without 
proper  protection  in  case  of  fire;  pigs,  goats,  horses, 
and  other  animals  kept  in  cellars;  dangerous  old 
fire  traps  without  fire  escapes;  disease-breeding  rags 
and  junk  stored  in  tenement  houses;  halls  kept  dark 
at  night,  endangering  the  lives  and  safety  of  the 
occupants;  buildings  without  adequate  water  sup- 
ply— the  list  might  be  added  to  almost  indefinitely. 
The  cleansing  of  the  Augean  stables  was  a  small 
task  compared  to  the  cleansing  of  New  York's 

1  First  report,  July,  1903.  The  conditions  described  have  been 
greatly  improved  in  the  last  ten  years,  and  the  description  no  longer 
applies  to  New  York. 


276  THE  MODERN  CITY 

82,000  tenement  houses,  occupied  by  nearly  3,000,- 
000  of  people,  representing  every  nationality  and 
every  degree  in  the  social  scale." 

The  Causes  of  the  Housing  Problem. 

If  we  follow  this  transition  from  the  town  to  the 
city  we  find  that  the  housing  problem  is  due  to  high 
land  values  on  the  one  hand  and  inadequate  trans- 
portation facilities  on  the  other.  These  create  the 
housing  problem.  High  land  values  are  due  to  the 
demand  for  land.  This  in  turn  involves  the  inten- 
sive use  of  land  by  the  owner  in  order  to  secure  a 
commercial  return  mi  tin-  investment  This  means 
high  buildings,  high  rente,  and  congestion. 

In  every  large  city;  too,  transportation  lags  behind 
the  need  for  it.    When  the  town  is  small  men  walk 
to  their  work.    Then  comes  the  bus  or  the  horse- 
car.    The  horee-car  is  followed  by  the  electric  trol- 
ley, which  in  turn  is  followed  by  the  elevated, 
subway,  and  the  intcrurban  train.    But  in  each 
instance  adequate  transportation  followed,  it  did  not 
precede  the  growth  of  p"pulati«.n.     The  explanation 
is  simple.    A  short  haul  is  more  profitable  than  a 
long  haul.    In  consequence,  transportation  < 
panics  extend  their  lines  only  as  they  are  forced  to  do 
so.    It  is  to  their  interest  to  restrain  populat 
within  as  narrow  limits  as  possible.    It  is  to 
interest  of  y  on  the  other  hand  to  distribute 

population  as  widely  as  possible.     Despite  these 
obvious  facts  cities  have  rarely  prevented  congestion 
by  extending  transportation  in  advance  of  popula- 
i.    In  consequence,  all  cities,  both  in  America 


THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM  277 

and  in  Europe,  are  congested.  Tenants  have  to 
take  such  houses  as  were  offered,  because  working 
men  have  to  live  near  their  work. 

Housing  reformers  are  just  beginning  to  appreciate 
these  facts.  They  are  coming  to  see  that  the  hous- 
ing problem  is  a  land  and  transportation  problem 
and  can  only  be  solved  as  such. 

Four  Policies  of  Housing  Reform. 

Four  general  policies  are  being  pursued  as  to 
housing.  They  are: 

1.  A  laissez-faire  reliance  on  private  capital  and 
the  law  of  supply  and  demand  to  provide  a  sufficient 
number  of  houses  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  com- 
munity. 

2.  The  enactment  of  laws  for  the  regulation  of 
private  builders — materials,  plumbing  and  sanita- 
tion, the  area  to  be  covered  by  structures,  the  cubic 
air  space  per  occupant,  etc. 

3.  The  discouragement  of  land  speculation  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  encouragement  of  building  on  the 
other  by  the  reduction  or  removal  of  taxes  on  houses 
and  improvements  and  the  increase  in  the  taxes  on 
land;  and 

4.  The  building  of  model  homes,  tenements,  and 
garden  suburbs  by  the  city  itself  or  by  co-operative 
associations   aided   by   public   loans.    This  policy 
has  been  most  widely  developed  in  Great  Britain 
and  Germany,  in  competition  with  private  builders. 

The  Policies  Considered. 

I.  Laissez  Faire.—The  housing  problem  is  really 
caused  by  the  first  policy  of  unregulated  house-build- 


278  THE  MODERN  CITY 

ing  and  laissez-faire  reliance  on  private  initiative. 
Private  capital  produces  sufficient  houses  in  the 
smaller  towns,  where  the  population  is  more  or  less 
stationary,  but  it  fails  to  do  so  wherever  increasing 
population  makes  it  more  profitable  to  speculate 
in  land  rather  than  to  build,  and  through  specula- 
tion and  the  withholding  of  land  from  use  to  o\ 
crowd  tenements  on  congested  areas.    This  po1 
has  failed  wholly  in  the  larger  cities. 

1 1 .  Regulation  by  Building  and  Tenement  Laws.— 
This  laissez-faire  policy  of  reliance  on  competit 
has  been  Amorally  f<>ll<»\vr<l  l,y  the  second  policy  of 
regulation.  New  York  has  enacted  a  great  body  of 
laws  within  the  past  few  years  for  the  regulation  of 
tenements,  which  have  been  quite  largely  copied  by 
other  States. 

The  tenement-bouse  I 

tenement  tolxTany  building  occupied  as  a  residence 
by  three  or  more  families,  living  imi<  ;>•:..! 
each  other  and  dnin.i:  their  cooking  on  the  premises. 
Such  tenements  may  only  cover  a  certain 
of  the  lot  area;  rooms  must  have  a  minimum  .- 
and  in  the  living  rooms  there  must  be  windows  of  a 
certain  area.    The  dark  room  is  prohibited  for  liv- 
ing purposes.    The  law  provides  as  to  the  plumbing, 
water  supply,  water-closets,  cleanliness,  stairways, 
basements,  and  courts.    "In  every  tenement  house, 
wherever  erected,  there  shall  be  in  each  apart  n 
a  proper  sink  with  running  water  .  .  .  there  shall 
be  a  separate  water-closet  in  a  separate  compart  n 
of  each  apartment,  provided  that  where  there  are 


THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM  279 

apartments  of  but  one  or  two  rooms  there  shall  be 
at  least  one  water-closet  for  every  three  rooms." 

New  Law  Tenements. 

The  tenements  erected  under  this  law  are  a  great 
improvement  on  the  old  ones.  Between  80  and  90 
per  cent,  of  the  new  tenements  contain  private 
baths  for  each  family.  The  common  water-tap  in 
the  back  yard  or  for  a  whole  floor  has  disappeared, 
as  has  the  common  sink.  There  has  been  a  conse- 
quent improvement  in  health  and  sanitation. 

As  a  protection  against  fire  the  law  contains  pro- 
visions as  to  materials,  the  structure  of  halls  and 
stairways,  the  erection  of  fire-escapes,  and  the 
storage  of  combustible  materials.  New  tenements 
exceeding  six  stories  above  the  curb  are  required  to 
be  fire-proof,  while  smaller  tenements  must  have 
fire-proof  stairs  and  halls. 

Over  $750,000,000  has  been  expended  in  ten 
years'  time  in  Greater  New  York  in  the  erection  of 
such  tenements.  They  contain  312,000  apartments 
and  house  a  million  and  a  half  people  in  homes  with 
outside  light  and  air  in  every  room,  with  running 
water  in  each  apartment,  and  with  private  toilets. 
Over  80  per  cent,  of  the  apartments  have  set-in  bath- 
tubs. All,  too,  are  protected  by  fire-escapes  and 
many  of  them  by  fire-proof  stairs. 

"This  type  of  house,"  says  Mr.  Lawrence  Veiller, 
"has  given  eminent  satisfaction  in  New  York.  It  is 
practically  the  main  type  that  has  been  built  since 
the  passage  of  the  Tenement  House  Act  in  1901. 
During  the  period  of  eight  years,  in  the  borough  of 


280  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Manhattan  alone,  4,506  new  tenement-houses  have 
been  built,  providing  accommodations  for  116,789 
families,  or  approximately  over  half  a  million  people. 
There  has  not,  however,  in  all  this  time  been  a 
single  instance  of  a  bad  fire  in  one  of  these  houses; 
nor  has  there  been  any  loss  of  life  from  fire  in  one  of 
these  buildings,  nor  any  fire  in  which  any  consid- 
erable financial  damage  has  resulted." 

The  law  further  requires  that  the  tenement -houses 
must  be  kept  clean  of  dirt,  filth,  or  garbage,  the 
owner  being  required  to  cleanse  all  the  rooms,  pas- 
sageways, storerooms,  etc.,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
department  of  health;  he  must  provide  suitable  con- 
veniences or  receptacles  for  ashes,  rubbish,  garbage, 
and  other  material. 

The  administration  of  the  law  is  reposed  in  the 
hands  of  the  tenement  commissioner,  who  emj>l 
a  large  number  of  subordinates  who  inspect  and 
n  port  upon  violations  of  the  law,  much  as  does  the 
Health  Department. 

The  Success  and  Failure  of  Regulation. 

Regulation  is  primarily  a  health  and  sanitary 
programme.  It  has  improved  the  type  of  tenement, 
has  made  it  sanitary,  healthy,  and  more  nearly  fire- 
proof, but  it  does  not  reduce  congestion  or  lower 
rents.  Nor  does  it  increase  the  number  of  houses. 
Rather  the  reverse  is  true.  Improved  plumbing, 
better  sanitation,  more  light  and  air  increase  the 
cost  of  construction,  which  in  turn  increases  rente 
and  creates  further  congestion.  Under  the  most 
drastic  laws  and  the  most  honest  regulation  families 


THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM  281 

still  live  in  one  or  two  room  tenements.  They  must 
take  in  boarders  to  make  up  the  rent;  they  must 
continue  to  perform  all  the  domestic  functions  in 
the  narrow  quarters  of  the  tenement  room.  These 
economic  conditions  cannot  be  met  by  regulation. 
For  regulation  does  not  increase  the  supply  of  houses. 
It  rather  diminishes  them  by  increasing  the  cost  of 
construction. 

Nor  do  such  laws  protect  the  tenement-dweller 
from  such  evils  as  prostitution,  which  is  easily  re- 
cruited among  children  who  have  known  no  privacy; 
whose  eyes  are  familiar  with  the  finery  of  the  women 
who  are  distinguished  from  their  neighbors  because 
of  their  comparative  luxury  and  freedom  from  long 
hours  of  toil  in  the  shop  or  the  factory. 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  hoped  that  private  philan- 
thropy at  6  per  cent,  might  solve  the  problem  by 
the  erection  of  model  tenements.  But  the  inade- 
quacy of  such  a  remedy  is  indicated  by  the  experience 
of  New  York.  Writing  in  1910,  Mr.  Lawrence 
Veiller  says  that  "during  the  past  forty  years  model 
tenements  accommodating  about  18,000  persons 
have  been  built  by  philanthropists  in  New  York, 
while  real-estate  speculators  had  built  houses,  many 
of  them  of  a  very  objectionable  type,  for  1,267,550 
persons." 

The  Crux  of  the  Housing  Problem. 

Neither  private  capital  nor  philanthropy  can  be 
relied  upon  to  provide  a  sufficient  number  of  houses 
in  a  growing  city.  The  reason  for  this  is  that,  gen- 
erally speaking,  there  is  more  money  to  be  made 


282  THE  MODERN  CITY 

in  holding  land  for  speculation  than  there  is  in 
building  houses.  In  growing  cities  land  values  in- 
crease at  4  or  5  per  cent,  per  annum.  This  is  the 
experience  of  European  and  American  cities.  There 
is  less  risk,  hazard,  and  trouble  involved  in  keeping 
land  out  of  use  than  in  the  building  and  management 
of  tenements.  In  consequence  men  speculate  rather 
than  build.  The  economic  motives  operative  in  other 
businesses  do  not  apply  with  the  same  force  in  the 
building  of  housest  because  of  the  identity  of  the  hous- 
ing problem  with  the  land. 

We  now  recognize  that  there  can  be  no  competition 
among  gas,  water,  street-railways,  and  other  natural 
monopolies.  The  traditional  laws  of  com{ 
do  not  operate  in  this  field.  The  same  is  true,  al- 
though to  a  less  degree,  of  house-building,  for  tli<> 
laws  of  demand  and  supply  are  not  adequate  in 
house-building  to  either  erect  a  sufficient  number 
of  houses  or  to  keep  down  rente  to  a  reasonable  figure. 

e  reason  for  this  is  the  identity  of  housing  with 
land  and  the  speculative  gains  or  hope  of  gains  to  be 
made  from  holding  land  out  of  use.    For  this  reason 
new  remedies  must  be  sought  in  the  solution  of 
problem. 

III.  Lower  Taxation  on  Houses  as  an  Encourage* 
mcnt  to  Building. — The  taxation  of  land  values  and 
the  exemption  of  houses  and  improvements  is  b* 
proposed  in  a  number  of  States  as  a  solution  of  the 
housing  problem.  This  reform  attacks  the  problem 
as  a  land  rather  than  a  house  problem.  It  relies  on 
competition  if  competition  can  be  made  to  work 


THE  HOUSING  PROBJ 

and  claims  that  the  heavier  taxation  of  land  will 
reverse  the  economic  motives  which  now  lead  men 
to  speculate  rather  than  build.  It  will  increase  the 
supply  of  houses  and  by  this  means  lower  rents  and 
compel  owners  to  compete  for  tenants  and  by  the 
same  force  bring  about  needed  improvements  and 
betterments. 

The  congestion  committee  of  New  York  recom- 
mended the  reduction  in  the  taxes  on  houses  and 
improvements  to  one  half  the  tax  on  land  values  as 
a  first  step  in  this  programme,  and  in  support  of  its 
proposal  the  committee  reported  that  there  were 
184,000  vacant  parcels  of  land  in  Greater  New  York 
which  would  house  one  half  the  population  in  com- 
fort if  built  upon.  Much  of  this  land  is  held  for 
speculation  when  it  should  be  used  for  house-build- 
ing. Through  an  increase  in  the  land  tax,  the  com- 
mittee urged,  the  withholding  of  land  from  use 
would  be  discouraged,  while  building  would  be  en- 
couraged by  the  reduction  in  the  taxes  on  houses 
and  improvements. 

Taxation  Exemption  to  Encourage  Building. 

In  support  of  this  recommendation  Mr.  Raymond 
V.  Ingersoll,  its  chairman,  stated: 

"One  of  the  main  purposes  of  this  proposal  is  to 
encourage  the  more  rapid  building  up  of  the  many 
suburban  communities  within  the  city  limits.  In 
all  such  sections  improvements  are  usually  worth 
at  least  twice  the  value  of  the  land  upon  which  they 
are  located,  and  to  lighten  the  tax  upon  improve- 
ments would  be  a  great  aid  to  development.  The 


284  THE  MODERN  CITY 

present  policy,  on  the  other  hand,  of  taxing  land  and 
buildings  at  an  equal  rate,  is  a  distinct  encourage- 
ment to  the  holding  of  land  out  of  use  for  a  specula- 
tive rise  in  value.  It  is  often  more  profitable  for 
landowners  to  wait  for  an  increased  value  to  be 
created  by  the  growth  of  population  and  by  the 
efforts  of  neighboring  owners  who  do  build,  than  to 
bring  upon  themselves  the  severe  penalties  which 
we  now  impose  upon  all  building  enterprise." 

Continuing,  he  says: 

"A  high  tax  rate  on  buildings  tends  to  chock  the 
building  supply.  High  taxation  of  lands  has  no 
such  effect.  In  fact  land  held  out  of  use  is  brought 
more  quickly  into  the  active  market. 

"Taxes  on  buildings  are  reflected  in  rente.  A 
policy  of  heavier  improvement  taxes  means  fewer 
buildings  and  higher  rents.  That  is,  improvement 
taxes  are  paid  by  tenants.  Land  taxes  must  be 
paid  by  the  owner;  they  cannot  be  shifted. 

"Building  values  are  produced  and  increased  by 
the  industry  and  enterprise  of  the  individual  owner. 
Land  values  arise  almost  wholly  from  the  growth  of 
the  community  and  from  its  pressing  need  of  places 
in  which  to  live  and  work.  New  York  land  val 
go  up  over  $700  for  every  additional  person  on  the 
census  rolls. 

"Buildings  tend  to  deteriorate  from  year  to  year; 
land  tends  to  grow  more  valuable. 

"Increase  in  the  actual,  tangible,  useful  wealth 
within  the  city  is  checked  by  a  tax  that  discourages 
building.  A  tax  on  land  does  not  have  this  effect. 

"Expenditures  of  public  revenues — especially 
upon  permanent  improvements — cause  a  direct  in- 
crease in  land  values.  Building  values  are  not  ben- 
efited in  the  same  way.'* 


THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM  285 

The  committee  quoted  Mr.  William  E.  Harmon, 
president  of  one  of  the  largest  real-estate  corpora- 
tions in  the  city,  in  support  of  this  measure.  Mr. 
Harmon  stated  before  the  committee: 

"Probably  the  best  way  to  solve  the  problem  of 
congestion  would  be  to  double  the  tax  on  vacant 
land,  thus  reducing  the  tax  on  improvements.  If 
you  increase  the  tax  on  land  you  force  construction 
to  meet  the  carrying  charges." 

Discouragement  from  Taxes  on  Improvements. 

A  business  men's  committee  for  the  promotion  of 
this  measure  says  in  regard  to  taxes  in  New  York 
City: 

"The  essentials  to  every  city's  development  and 
progress  are  cheap  land,  low  rents  and  low  taxes, 
but  New  York  City  is  handicapped  by  dear  land, 
high  rents  and  high  taxes.  The  English  Board  of 
Trade  recently  found  that  the  minimum  rent  for  a 
three-room  apartment  in  New  York  City  is  9  per 
cent,  higher  than  in  Pittsburgh,  and  over  one-fifth 
higher  than  in  Philadelphia,  Cleveland  and  Chicago. 
The  tax  rate  on  buildings  in  New  York  is  higher  than 
in  most  of  the  cities  with  which  it  competes.  Build- 
ings in  New  York  are  taxed  at  the  same  rate  as  land. 
This  encourages  the  owners  of  vacant  land  to  hold 
it  out  of  use,  because  the  annual  increase  in  land 
values  is  more  than  double  the  tax  rate  on  land. 
It  discourages  the  construction  of  buildings,  most 
of  which  when  constructed  are  assessed  for  at  least 
twice  as  much  as  the  land  upon  which  they  stand. 
Buildings  therefore  usually  pay  at  least  twice  as 
much  taxes  as  their  sites.  Buildings,  however, 
depreciate  at  least  2  per  cent,  a  year,  or  slightly 


286  THE  MODERN  CITY 

more  than  the  total  amount  of  taxes  they  pay.  The 
present  system  of  taxing  buildings  naturally  keeps 
the  supply  of  buildings  below  the  demand — that  is, 
it  keeps  up  rents  and  this  increases  the  cost  of  doing 
business  in  New  York  City  and  increases  the  cost 
of  living  here. 

"Had  the  proposed  system  of  taxation  been  in 
operation  in  1911,  buildings  in  New  York  City 
would  have  paid  about  $18,000,000  less  taxes,  and 
land  about  $18,000,000  more  taxes  than  each  class 
of  real  estate  actually  did  pay. 

"The  increased  taxes  paid  by  land  would  repre- 
sent less  than  one-fifth  of  the  net  increase  in  land 
values  of  the  city  from  1910  to  1911,  while  if  build- 
ings depreciated  only  2  per  cent.,  the  total  deprecia- 
tion in  the  one  year  was  over  $52,000,000."  l 

Example  from  Canada. 

The  cities  of  western  Canada,  notably  Vancouver, 
have  abolished  taxes  on  improvement  values  en- 
tirely. In  Vancouver  the  value  of  the  house  per- 
mits issued  increased  by  100  per  cent,  the  year  fol- 
lowing the  exemption  of  houses  and  improvements. 

A  special  commission  created  by  the  Minnesota 
legislature  investigated  the  result  of  Canadian 
perience  and  reported  in  1912.    Speaking  of  Van- 
couver the  commission  said: 

"The  result,  it  is  claimed,  was  magical.    There 
was  an  immediate  leap  forward  in  local  prosperity, 
huge  buildings   at  once  began  to  rise  up   \\\ 
shacks  had  stood,  and  the  city  grew  in  population 

1 "  To  Promote  New  York's  Prosperity,"  published  by  The  Buai- 
ness  Men's  Committee  on  Halving  the  Tax-Rate  on  Buildings  in 
New  York  City. 


THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM  287 

by  leaps  and  bounds.  Ten  years  ago  it  had  a  popu- 
lation of  less  than  27,000;  to-day  it  exceeds  150,000. 
In  1901  the  assessed  value  of  land  was  less  than 
$23,000,000;  to-day  it  exceeds  $100,000,000.  That 
the  marvellous  growth  of  the  city  is  entirely  due  to 
its  taxing  system  is  not  claimed,  but  that  it  has 
stimulated  and  aided  such  growth  is  generally  ad- 
mitted. ...  It  is  but  fair  to  add  that  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  Vancouver  seem  to  be  strong 
advocates  and  supporters  of  the  principle  of  exempt- 
ing buildings  and  improvements  from  taxation/' 

The  policy  of  taxing  land  more  heavily  than 
improvements  has  been  followed  in  Australia;  it  is 
the  policy  of  many  housing  reformers  and  municipal 
officials  in  Germany  and  is  being  urged  in  a  number 
of  American  States.  The  proposal  is  discussed  as 
a  financial  measure  in  a  later  chapter,  "  New  Sources 
of  Revenue." 

Summary. 

The  housing  problem  is  the  most  insistent  of  all 
municipal  problems.    It  exists  in  all  countries  with 
a  rapidly  increasing  urban  population,  as  in  America, 
England,  and  Germany.    Probably  the  worst  hous-  \/ 
ing  conditions  are  those  of  England  and  Germany. 

America  has  done  much  to  so  regulate  building 
construction  as  to  improve  the  health  of  the  com- 
munity. But  regulation  has  not  reduced  congestion 
or  reduced  rents,  and  public  opinion  is  coming  to 
appreciate  that  the  housing  problem  is  a  land  prob- 
lem on  the  one  hand  and  a  transportation  problem 
on  the  other  and  that  it  can  only  be  corrected  as 
such.  A  number  of  cities  and  States  are  agitating 
for  the  removal  of  all  taxes  on  houses  and  the  in- 


288  THE  MODERN  CITY 

crease  in  the  tax  on  land,  for  the  purpose  of  encour- 
aging house-building  and  the  prevention  of  land 
speculation.  Advocates  of  this  reform  urge  that 
the  land  speculator  rather  than  the  house-builder 
is  responsible  for  the  housing  problem  and  that 
through  increased  land  taxation  the  tendency  to 
speculate  will  be  checked  and  the  motive  for  build- 
ing will  be  stimulated.  Canadian  cities  have  de- 
veloped this  policy  to  the  extent  of  exempting  im- 
provements from  taxation,  with  the  result  that  those 
cities  that  have  adopted  this  policy  have  increased 
rapidly  in  population. 


CHAPTER  XX 
MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE 

IN  the  previous  chapter  proposals  to  relieve  the 
housing  problem  by  regulation  on  the  one  hand  and 
taxation  on  the  other  have  been  considered.  Re- 
liance on  private  builders  and  the  law  of  demand 
and  supply  is  the  American  policy.  In  Europe, 
and  especially  in  Germany  and  England,  public 
opinion  is  coming  to  realize  that  private  capital 
has  not  and  will  not  build  enough  houses  to  supply 
the  demand.  This  has  been  officially  recognized  by 
a  number  of  cities  in  official  statements.  To  meet 
this  condition  municipal  and  State  authorities  are 
building  houses  hi  competition  with  private  owners, 
or  loans  are  being  made  from  public  funds  at  low 
rates  of  interest  to  co-operative  associations  for  this 
purpose. 

Land  Speculation  and  Congestion. 

City  population,  it  is  stated,  grows  faster  than  do 
the  houses  for  its  accommodation.  This  permits 
anything  to  be  rented.  This,  too,  keeps  up  rents 
at  a  monopoly  price.  It  maintains  urban  land 
values  at  a  high  figure,  which,  in  turn,  require  high 
rents  in  order  to  pay  interest  on  the  capitalization. 
Low  rents  and  better  houses,  it  is  claimed,  can  only 
be  secured  by  the  building  of  more  houses  and  the 
opening  of  the  countryside  to  building.  These 
ends,  in  turn,  can  only  be  secured  by  improved 

289 


290  THE  MODERN    CITY 

methods  of  transit,  by  the  taxation  of  vacant  Ian 
a  higher  rate  than  improvements,  or  by  the  building 
of  houses  or  tenements  by  public  authorities  which 
will  compete  with  the  private  builders.  The  pur- 
pose of  all  these  measures  is  to  secure  more  houses 
and  to  encourage  improvements  and  competition  in 
house-building. 

By  far  the  most  substantial  contribution  yet 
made  to  the  housing  problem  is  that  of  the  garden 
city  of  Great  Britain. 
The  Garden  City. 

For  more  than  a  generation  the  housing  problem 
has  been  recognized  as  the  most  serious  municipal 
problem  in  Great  Britain.  Four  fifths  of  the  people 
under  urban  surroundings,  of  whom  a  large  per- 
centage dwell  in  inadequate,  unsanitary  tenements. 
In  the  attempt  to  solve  the  problem,  one  remedy 
after  another  has  been  tried.  Many  laws  have 
been  enacted  to  regulate  landlords.  Private  philan- 
thropy has  also  erected  many  model  tenements,  while 
a  number  of  cities  have  razed  slum  areas  and  engaged 
in  ambitious  housing  projects.  Within  the  past  few 
years,  however,  hope  has  been  enkindled  by 
garden-city  or  garden-suburb  movement,  which  has 
awakened  the  enthusiasm  of  officials  and  reforn 
not  only  i  n  c.  reat  Britain  but  on  the  continent  as  well. 
Letchworth. 

The  movement  began  with  a  book  written  by 
Ebenezer  Howard,  entitled  The  Garden  City  of  To- 
Morrow,  which  appeared  in  1898.  In  1903  a  co- 
operative corporation  was  organized  to  carry  out 


MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE        291 

the  idea.  A  site  was  selected  at  Letchworth,  thirty- 
four  miles  to  the  northwest  of  London  and  fifty 
minutes'  ride  from  the  city  by  train,  where  4,000 
acres  of  farming  land  were  purchased  at  $200  an 
acre.  The  corporation  differs  from  other  private 
corporations  in  that  it  limits  its  dividends  to  5  per 
cent.  In  consequence  there  is  no  incentive  to 
crowd  people,  to  increase  rents,  or  to  erect  bad 
houses.  The  articles  of  incorporation  provide  that 
all  earnings  in  excess  of  5  per  cent,  are  to  be  ex- 
pended for  the  benefit  of  the  community,  on  the 
building  of  schools,  clubs,  playgrounds,  the  reduc- 
tion of  taxes,  etc.  In  other  words,  as  the  land  grows 
in  value  the  increased  value  is  to  be  enjoyed  by  all 
the  members  of  the  community  rather  than  by  the 
owners. 

The  elimination  of  speculative  profits  was  the 
first  principle  of  the  garden-city  enterprise.  The 
second  was  the  building  of  the  new  community  as 
a  unit  much  as  suburbs  are  planned  in  Germany. 
A  large  area  was  laid  out  at  one  time  by  an  expert 
city  planner  so  that  it  could  be  done  economically 
and  with  provision  for  all  the  needs  of  the  people. 
For  the  same  reason  a  large  number  of  houses  are 
erected  at  the  same  time  and  in  harmony  with  an 
artistic  community  scheme,  thus  permitting  the 
employment  of  good  architects  and  the  reduction 
of  the  building  costs. 

The  City  a  Unit. 

Regulations  were  adopted  by  the  co-operative 
corporation  which  compelled  the  factories  to  build 


292  THE  MODERN  CITY 

along  the  railway  tracks  and  at  some  distance  from 
the  residence  section.  The  gas,  water,  and  d 
ity  supply  was  installed  when  the  streets  were 
being  built  and  is  under  the  control  of  the  corpora- 
tion. Charges  are  made  as  low  as  possible  and  the 
use  of  coal  is  minimized.  The  garden  city  treats 
these  services  much  as  the  private  buiM«-r  treats 
the  elevator,  pipes,  wiring,  and  plumbing  of  his 
house.  They  are  the  vital  organs  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Manufacturing  concerns  are  attracted  to  Letch- 
worth  by  cheap  land,  which  is  leased  to  them  on 
easy  terms.  They  are  encouraged  to  erect  one- 
story  buildings,  with  ample  light  for  their  em- 
I>l<>y<vs.  In  a  few  years'  time  a  large  number  of 
industries  have  located  in  the  city,  which  has  grown 
with  great  rapidity.  When  the  project  was  started 
tin*  population  of  Letchworth  was  only  400.  In 
four  years'  time  it  had  grown  to  7,000.  A  consid- 
erable number  of  people  travel  back  and  forth  from 
London  each  day,  while  many  people  have  adopted 
the  city  as  a  suburban  residence. 

garden  city  suggests  the  old  English  village. 
The  streets  are  lined  with  trees  and  are  made  aa 
pi( •tmvsque  as  possible.  Frequent  open  spaces  are 
provided  for  rest  and  play.  There  are  a  golf  course, 
half  a  dozen  greens,  tennis-courts,  and  cricket-fields. 
A  central  club-house  has  also  been  erected. 

The  kind  and  style  of  houses  that  may  be  erected 
is  controlled  as  is  the  distance  houses  must  be  set 
back  from  the  street  and  the  amount  of  land  that 


MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE        293 

may  be  covered  by  them.  This  insures  harmonious 
architecture  and  a  uniform  street  alignment.  Over- 
crowding is  prevented  by  this  means,  so  that  there 
can  be  no  slums  in  Letchworth,  for  the  maximum 
number  of  houses  is  limited  to  12  to  the  acre.  In 
the  old  industrial  cities  there  are  30,  40,  and  even 
50  houses  to  the  acre.  Round  about  the  town 
proper  2,500  acres  of  land  were  laid  off  for  truck- 
gardening,  for  the  raising  of  poultry,  fruit,  and 
vegetables.  This  serves  to  keep  down  the  cost  of 
living.  This  is  a  revival  of  the  practice,  universal 
among  German  towns  in  the  Middle  Ages,  of  owning 
common  lands  for  all  the  people,  to  be  used  by  them 
for  the  gathering  of  fuel,  for  pasturage  and  agri- 
culture. 

Houses  for  working  men  rent  for  from  $4.64  to 
$10  a  month.  Each  cottage  is  detached  or  semi- 
detached and  is  surrounded  by  a  garden.  Each, 
too,  is  provided  with  plumbing  and  other  modern 
conveniences.  All  this  is  possible  owing  to  the  low 
cost  of  the  land  in  the  first  place  and  the  building 
by  wholesale  in  the  second. 

Extension  of  the  Idea— the  Garden  Suburb. 

The  Letchworth  experiment  was  so  successful 
that  nearly  seventy  other  projects  are  being  carried 
out  in  Great  Britain.  Port  Sunlight,  near  Liver- 
pool, and  Bournville,  near  Birmingham,  are  pro- 
prietary model  villages  erected  by  manufacturers 
in  order  to  get  their  workmen  out  into  the  country 
under  more  healthful  conditions.  Birmingham  is 
planning  a  garden  suburb  of  3,700  acres,  while 


294  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Manchester  offered  prizes  for  the  best  development 
of  a  large  outlying  area  upon  which  cottages  can  be 
built  to  rent  from  $7.50  to  $10.00  a  month.  Sim- 
ilar suburban  projects  are  being  planned  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Liverpool,  Bristol,  and  Hull,  while 
a  dozen  private  and  semi-public  undertakings  are 
being  promoted  near  other  large  cities.  Some  of 
these  enterprises  are  private,  others  are  co-operative. 
Hampstead . 

The  leading  garden  suburb,  as  distinguished  from 
independent,  self-contained  city,  is  Hampstead. 
1 1  is  less  than  a  half -hour  by  train  from  the  centre 
of  London.  The  Hampstead  garden  suburb  was 
begun  in  1905  by  the  acquisition  of  243  acres  of 
land.  The  original  cost  of  the  land  was  $2,200  an 
acre.  The  village  was  planned  for  from  10,000  to 
1J  OOO  people.  Since  that  time  the  area  has  been 
enlarged. 

Hampstead  is  a  home  for  persona  of  moderate 
means,  for  clerks  and  skilled  working  men.  Houses 
rent  as  low  as  $8  a  month. 

Along  with  the  co-operative  planning  of  the  land 
has  gone  a  co-operative  building  society  movement 
called  the  tenants'  co-operative.  Shares  of  stock 
are  sold  to  tenants,  who  pay  for  their  houses  in 
instalments  in  the  form  of  monthly  rent  Instead, 
however,  of  owning  individual  houses,  occupants 
own  an  undivided  interest  in  the  corporation,  wl 
owns  a  large  number  of  houses.  By  this  arrange- 
ment owners  can  sell  their  stock  but  not  their 
houses.  Working  men  are  ordinarily  deterred  from 


MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE        295 

becoming  home  owners  by  reason  of  the  uncertainty 
of  employment.  By  this  method,  however,  they  can 
invest  in  the  corporation  and  still  have  their  indi- 
vidual home. 

Co-operative  building  and  ownership  enables  the 
corporation  to  employ  the  best  of  architects  and  at 
the  same  time  to  so  control  the  property  as  to  insure 
harmony  as  well  as  variety  in  architecture.  Through 
the  ownership  of  a  group  of  houses  the  individual 
is  prevented  from  letting  his  house  go  to  decay;  he 
cannot  use  it  for  improper  purposes  or  build  an 
apartment,  a  stable,  or  factory  which  injures  the 
neighborhood.  All  the  owners  are  insured  against 
this  sort  of  hazard.  Co-operative  building,  too, 
enables  the  community  to  take  advantage  of  econ- 
omies in  building. 

The  houses  rent  at  a  price  sufficient  to  yield  5 
per  cent,  on  their  cost,  any  surplus  earned  by  the 
corporation  being  returned  to  the  tenants  as  a  rebate 
on  their  rent.  These  profits  are  credited  on  the 
tenants'  stock  subscription  until  it  is  paid  up. 

Effect  on  Health. 

The  effect  of  the  garden  city  on  health  and  ef- 
ficiency is  remarkable.  Statistical  comparisons  have 
been  made  of  old  industrial  towns  and  the  new 
garden  suburbs.  It  has  been  found  that  the  average 
height  of  Port  Sunlight  school  children  of  fourteen 
years  of  age  was  60.7  inches,  while  those  of  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Liverpool  ranged  from  55.2  to  61.7 
inches.  The  weight  of  children  of  the  same  age  was 
105  pounds  in  Port  Sunlight  and  from  71.1  to  94.5 


296  THE  MODERN  CITY 

pounds  in  the  public  schools  of  Liverpool.  Statistics 
also  show  that  the  death-rate  is  greatly  reduced. 
For  a  period  of  six  years  it  ran  as  low  as  7.5  per 
1,000  in  Boumville,  while  in  the  near-by  city  of 
Birmingham  it  was  17.9  per  1,000.  The  mortality 
rate  in  Wales  in  1907  was  15.4  per  1,000,  whil 
Letchworth  it  was  5.2.  The  infantile  mortality 
rate  in  the  large  cities  ranges  from  107.9  per  1,000 
to  157.8,  while  in  the  garden  city  of  Letchworth  it 
fdl  to  31.7. 

The  garden  city  is  a  demonstration  of  the  fact 
t  h:it  the  city  can  be  made  beautiful  and  healthy  and 
be  distributed  over  a  wide  area.  It  also  demon- 
strates that  the  housing  problem  can  be  solved  by 
intelligent  community  action  and  indicates  a  means 
by  which  man  can  be  reunited  with  the  land  from 
which  he  has  been  separated  for  a  generation  by 
i«{uate  means  of  transportation  and  the  high 
urban  land  values  which  belated  transit  facilities 
have  created. 
Housing  in  Germany. 

Housing  conditions  in  Germany  are  nearly  if  not 
fully  as  bad  as  they  arc  in  Great  Britain.  In  Berlin 
nearly  one  third  of  the  people  live  in  dwellings  in 
which  each  room  contains  five  or  more  persons, 
while  80  per  cent,  of  the  working  people  in  the  larger 
towns  are  said  to  live  in  cellars,  attics,  and  tene- 
ments unsuited  to  the  maintenance  of  a  proper 
family  life,  official  investigations  declare  that  out 
of  every  1,000  persons  the  following  number  1 
in  dwellings  consisting  of  only  one  or  two  rooms: 


MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE       297 

in  Berlin,  731;  in  Breslau,  742;  in  Dresden,  688;  in 
Hamburg,  523;  in  Hanover,  679;  in  Konigsberg, 
760;  in  Magdeburg,  726;  in  Mannheim,  610;  in 
Munich,  524.  From  this  it  is  apparent  that  the 
German  city  is  confronted  with  a  housing  problem 
far  more  serious  than  our  own. 

Germany  is  attacking  the  problem  with  courage 
and  intelligence.  Many  experiments  are  being  made 
by  cities,  states,  and  co-operative  associations  in 
working  out  the  problem.  Frequent  conferences 
are  held;  the  interior  department  lends  encourage- 
ment to  the  cities,  while  the  funds  of  the  municipal 
savings-banks  and  the  state  insurance  funds  are 
loaned  at  low  rates  of  interest  for  the  erection  of 
model  tenements. 

The  Policies  Adopted. 

Three  general  housing  policies  are  being  followed. 
They  are: 

(1)  The  opening  up  of  suburban  territory  planned 
by  experts  so  as  to  prevent  the  reappearance  of 
tenement  conditions; 

(2)  The  building  of  model  houses  by  the  city  or 
by  co-operative  associations;  and 

(3)  The  removal  or  reduction  of  taxes  on  work- 
ing-men's houses  to  encourage  their  building  and  the 
taxation  of  vacant  land  at  a  higher  rate  than  im- 
proved land  to  force  it  into  use.    In  addition,  the 
means  of  transit,  which  are  commonly  owned  by  the 
cities,  have  been  extended  into  the  outlying  districts 
for  the  purpose  of  distributing  population  out  into 
the  country. 


2'JS  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Suburb&n  Planning. 

(1)  Planning  the  Residence  District*.— The  planning 
of  the  city  so  as  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  bad 
housing  conditions  by  limiting  the  height  of  build- 
ings and  the  area  that  may  be  built  upon  has  been 
described  in  another  chapter. 

In  the  new  suburban  districts  streets  are  ar- 
ranged so  as  to  give  the  fnmrinui1^  of  sunlight  in  the 
living-rooms.  Plumbing  and  sanitary  arrangements 
are  also  carefully  supervised.  The  plans  also  pro- 
vide for  small  parks  and  open  spaces  within  easy 
walking  distance  of  almost  every  one.  Whenever 
a  suburban  district  is  opened  up  for  building,  trans- 
portation facilities  are  usually  provided  When 
Frankfort  laid  out  a  new  industrial  section  it  built 
a  rapid  suburban  railway  line  in  order  that  the  work- 
men might  live  in  the  distant  villages.  The 
also  laid  out  a  park  and  playground  as  an  integral 
part  of  the  housing  programme. 

In  this  way  German  cities  control  the  land;  they 
insure  that  it  will  not  be  too  intensively  used,  that 
the  houses  will  be  the  proper  height,  that  provision 
will  be  made  for  gardens  in  the  front  and  rear  and 
for  proper  play  spaces  in  advance  of  building.  In 
this  respect  the  German  city  is  in  advance  of  any 
a  in  the  world.  But  proper  planning  and  ade- 
quate transportation  facilities  only  partially  solve 
the  housing  problem.  They  do  not  provide  more 
houses,  and  municipal  officials  in  Germany  frankly 
announce  that  private  capital  cannot  be  relied  upon 
to  solve  the  problem. 


MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE        299 

Municipal  Housing. 

(2)  Municipal  and  Co-operative  Housing. — Work- 
ing-men's homes  are  sometimes  built  by  the  munici- 
pality, but  more  frequently  by  co-operative  associ- 
ations to  which  money  is  loaned  by  the  city  or 
the  state  from  the  insurance  funds  at  a  low  rate 
of  interest.  State  authorities  frequently  provide 
houses  for  their  employees,  while  many  private 
corporations  have  erected  model  suburbs,  of  which 
those  in  Essen,  belonging  to  the  Frederick  Krupp 
Company,  are  the  most  widely  known. 

The  co-operative  associations  are  organized  by 
business  men  who  supply  a  portion  of  the  capital, 
but  tenants  are  compelled  to  subscribe  for  a  small 
sum  when  they  become  occupants.  About  10  per 
cent,  of  the  capital  is  secured  in  this  way,  the  other 
nine  tenths  is  loaned  by  the  state.  The  premiums 
from  the  sick,  accident,  and  old-age  insurance  funds 
have  accumulated  great  reserves,  of  which,  up  to 
1910,  $76,000,000  had  been  loaned,  at  an  average 
rate  of  interest  of  from  2J/£  to  4}^  per  cent. 

There  is  scarcely  a  large  city  in  Germany  in  which 
model  tenements  or  suburban  developments  are 
not  being  promoted  in  this  way.  The  problem  is 
still  far  from  a  solution,  but  a  beginning  has  been 
made  as  it  has  in  England,  a  beginning  that  suggests 
a  solution. 

Ulm. 

The  city  of  Ulm,  in  south  Germany,  with  a  pop- 
ulation of  56,000  inhabitants,  has  carried  through 
the  most  ambitious  housing  programme  of  any  city 


300  THE  MODERN  CITY 

in  Germany.  Nearly  5,000  acres  of  land  are  owned 
by  the  city,  a  portion  of  which  is  being  used  for 
working-men's  homes  built  by  the  city,  the  state, 
and  co-operative  societies.  The  houses  are  of  the 
detached  or  semi-detached  cottage  type,  and  are 
two  and  sometimes  three  stories  in  height,  with 
apartments  which  rent  at  from  $35  to  $67  a  year. 
Cottages  are  sold  on  the  instalment  plan,  the 
monthly  rent  being  sufficient  to  cover  interest  and 
provide  a  sinking-fund  which  retires  the  cost  of  the 
housr  at  the  end  of  a  long  term  of  years.  In  order 
to  prevent  speculation  the  city  reserves  the  right  to 
veto  any  sale  made  by  the  owner  and  to  regulate 
th»'  rental  charges  to  sub-tenante.  In  addition  to 
the  municipal  houses,  the*  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg 
has  erected  houses  for  its  employees,  while  co-opera- 
ieties  have  constructed  a  large  number  of 
other  houses. 


In  Berlin  more  than  10,000  working-men's  apart- 
ments are  owned  by  co-operative  societies.  One 
company  has  an  investment  of  over  $2,000,000  with 
over  5,000  members,  of  whom  3,500  are  workmen 
and  1,300  are  clerks.  It  owns  958  dwellings  in  a 
dozen  great  structures. 

Each  of  these  apartment  blocks  is  a  community 
in  itself,  in  which  the  tenant  has  the  privacy  of  a 
home  but  with  many  services  included  in  his  rent. 
The  apartment-house  frequently  occupies  a  whole 
city  block.  The  tenements  are  from  four  to  five 
stories  high,  but  a  large  part  of  the  lot  is  left  free 


MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE        301 

for  a  playground.  Sometimes  the  apartments  stand 
back  from  the  street  to  permit  of  a  garden-plot  in 
front.  More  often  they  are  built  close  to  the  street 
line,  with  the  unbuilt  area  in  the  centre.  Some  are 
like  the  figure  "8,"  with  an  inner  courtyard  of  sub- 
stantial dimensions  as  a  playground  for  children, 
with  gymnastic  apparatus,  sand  piles,  and  other 
equipment.  The  other  enclosed  court  is  reserved 
for  adults.  There  is  free  water  in  each  flat  and 
public  baths  for  those  who  do  not  have  them  in  their 
own  apartment.  There  is  a  free  kindergarten  con- 
ducted by  a  teacher  employed  by  the  corporation. 
Here  the  children  are  left  by  the  mother  when  she 
goes  out  to  her  work.  Each  house  also  contains  a 
well-chosen  circulating  and  reading  library.  On  the 
ground  floor  is  a  restaurant  with  a  smoking  and 
lounging  club  for  the  men.  In  the  basement  there 
is  a  co-operative  bakery  as  well  as  a  public  wash 
and  drying  establishment,  while  those  who  desire 
to  do  so  may  buy  their  fuel  in  common  from  a 
co-operative  society.  All  these  privileges  are  in- 
cluded in  the  rent. 

Co-operative  Ownership. 

In  order  to  become  a  tenant  one  must  be  a  part 
owner.  A  small  sum  is  deposited  as  a  first  instal- 
ment upon  the  stock,  which  investment  draws  4 
per  cent,  interest  and  can  be  withdrawn  at  any 
time  on  six  months'  notice. 

Each  house  is  administered  separately,  partly  by 
the  tenants  and  partly  by  the  societies  which  erect 
the  apartments.  The  tenants  select  a  house-master, 


THE  MODERN  CITY 

who  collects  the  rents,  supervises  the  premises,  and 
represents  the  tenants  before  the  board  of  directors. 

Rents  range  from  $50  a  year  upward.  Of  the  958 
apartments  of  (Hie  of  the  Berlin  building  societies, 
223  rent  at  from  $50  to  $75  a  year,  or  from  $1  to 
$1.50  a  week;  114  apartments  rent  at  from  $75  to 
$87  a  year;  104  rent  at  from  $90  to  $100  a  year; 
while  the  remainder  range  as  high  as  $225  a  year. 

Even  the  smallest  apartment  has  light,  a  closet, 
and  kitchenette.  The  rooms  are  of  a  comfortable 
siie  and  are  thoroughly  sanitary.  Where  possible, 
balconies  are  provided  and  the  tenants  are  en* 
couraged  to  beautify  the  fronts  with  window-bow* 
The  facades  of  these  apartments  suggest  a  flower 
garden  rather  than  the  tenements  with  which  wt 
are  familiar  in  New  York. 

The  English  garden-suburb  idea  is  also  being 
developed.  The  first  of  these  experiments  was 
HeDerau,  located  just  outside  of  the  city  of  Dreoien. 
Three  hundred  and  forty-five  acres  of  land  were 
purchased  by  a  private  individual  and  planned  as 
a  suburban  residence  for  clerks,  working  men,  and 
artists.  The  suburb  was  started  in  1909  and  by 
1911  300  cottages  had  been  erected  which  were 
immediately  occupied.  The  cottages  rent  at  from 
$62  to  $152  a  year.  Each  cottage  has  a  garden 
about  it  and  all  the  modem  conveniences.  The 
smallest  cottages  contain  four  rooms.  In  order  to 
become  a  member  of  the  society  the  tenant  must 
bfloomft  a  stockholder  in  the  co-operative  associa- 
tion and  pay  for  his  stock  in  monthly  instalments 


MUNICIPAL  HOUSING  IN  EUROPE        303 

in  lieu  of  rent.  All  of  the  houses  are  built  by  the 
co-operative  society,  which  is  aided  by  the  insurance 
funds  of  the  state. 

Similar  garden  suburbs  have  since  been  planned 
by  a  number  of  other  cities. 

(3)  Taxation. — City  authorities  also  promote  work- 
ing-men's homes  by  partial  or  complete  exemption 
from  taxation.  Vacant  land  is  frequently  taxed  at 
twice  the  rate  of  unproved  land,  for  the  purpose  of 
discouraging  speculation.  By  such  exemptions  a  pre- 
mium is  placed  on  house-building,  while  land  specu- 
lation is  discouraged.  In  addition  to  this  the  Wert- 
zuwachssteuer,  described  elsewhere,  for  the  taxation 
of  the  unearned  increment  of  urban  land  values,  still 
further  penalizes  land  speculation  and  forces  land  into 
use.  It  tends  to  break  up  estates  and  brings  subur- 
ban land  into  the  market.  The  Lloyd  George  budget 
in  England  in  1909  for  the  taxation  of  the  increase 
in  land  values  has  the  same  effect. 

Summary* 

European  countries,  and  especially  Great  Britain 
and  Germany,  have  abandoned  exclusive  reliance 
upon  private  capital  and  are  attacking  the  housing 
problem  by  the  construction  of  municipal  houses, 
the  promotion  of  garden  suburbs,  and  the  public 
ownership  of  the  transportation  agencies.  The  most 
distinguished  achievement  in  this  line  is  the  garden 
city  of  Great  Britain,  which  has  made  great  prog- 
ress during  the  last  ten  years.  Germany,  on  the 
other  hand,  where  the  housing  problem  is  as  bad  as 
it  is  in  Great  Britain,  has  entered  on  the  policy  of 
encouraging  working-men's  homes  by  loaning  public 


304  THE  MODERN  CITY 

money  at  low  rates  of  interest  to  co-operative  build- 
ing societies,  which  erect  model  tenements  within 
the  cities  or  garden  suburbs  on  the  outskirts.    Ev 
large  city  has  its  co-operative  building  society,  and 
thousands  of  working-men's  apartments  have  been 
erected  by  this  means.     In  addition,  through 
ownership  of  the  means  of  transportation  and  the 
planning  of  suburban  areas,  the  German  city  k 
tending  its  boundaries  and  is  regulating  the 
house  construction  so  that  bad  housing  conditions 
will  not  be  repeated.    Taxation  is  also  used  for 
purpose  of  discouraging  land  speculation  and 
encouragement  of  house-building.    European  coun- 
tries are  coming  to  rely  upon  the  state  rather  than  on 
private  initiative  for  the  solution  of  this  problem. 
Housing  is  treated  as  a  public  rather  than  as  an 
elusive  private  utility. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
RECREATION  AND  THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE 

"ONLY  in  the  modern  city,"  says  Jane  Addams, 
"have  men  concluded  that  it  is  no  longer  necessary 
for  the  municipality  to  provide  for  the  insatiable 
desire  for  play.  In  so  far  as  they  have  acted  upon 
this  conclusion,  they  have  entered  upon  a  most 
difficult  and  dangerous  experiment,  and  this  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  city  has  become  distinctly 
industrial  and  daily  labor  is  continually  more  monot- 
onous and  subdivided.  We  forget  how  new  the 
modern  city  is  and  how  short  the  span  of  time  in 
which  we  have  assumed  that  we  can  eliminate  pub- 
lic provision  for  recreation."1 

The  playground  was  the  first  and  is  almost  the 
only  recognition  that  wholesome  recreation  will  only 
be  supplied  by  the  city  itself.  It  cannot  be  left  to 
private  initiative  or  to  commercial  agencies.  The 
playground  takes  the  child  from  the  streets  and 
provides  a  proper  environment.  It  relieves  the 
parents  of  care  and  anxiety.  Joseph  Lee,  of  the 
Boston  Playground  Association,  says: 

"The  thing  that  most  needs  to  be  understood  about 
play  is  that  it  is  not  a  luxury  but  a  necessity.  It  is 
not  simply  something  that  a  child  likes  to  have;  it  is 
something  that  he  must  have  if  he  is  ever  to  grow  up. 

1  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets,  p.  5. 
305 


306  THE  MODERN  CITY 

.  .  .  The  child  needs  a  playground  because  his 
growth  is  through  activity,  through  those  specific 
forms  of  activity  which  his  nature  has  prescribed; 
and  because,  accordingly,  he  will  never  grow  up— 
or  will  grow  up  stunted  and  perverted — if  he  is 
denied  those  opportunities  and  objects  to  which 
his  vital,  instinctive  and  formative  activities  relate." 

The  Growth  of  the  Playground  Movement. 

The  playground  movement  began  to  attract  at- 
tention about  1900.  By  1906  there  were  forty-one 
communities  with  supervised  playgrounds  main- 
tained by  public  funds.  In  1913  the  Playground 
and  Recreation  Association  of  America  r 
ports  from  342  cities  with  2,400  playgrounds  under 
paid  supervision  and  over  6,000  persons,  exclusive 
of  caretakers,  who  were  making  it  their  profession. 
The  expenditure  for  the  year  was  $5,700,000,  or  a 
gain  of  $1,500,000  over  the  year  preceding.  Within 
the  past  ten  years  something  like  $60,000,000  has 
been  spent  by  the  various  cities  in  the  extension 
of  the  playground  movement.  This  indicates  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  idea  has  developed. 

Provision  has  also  been  made  for  supervision. 
Recreation  commissions  have  been  appointed  in 
many  cities,  with  secretaries  who  give  their  entire 
time  to  the  work,  while  trained  directors  or  su{ 
visors  are  employed  by  most  cities.  A  number  of 
States  have  passed  laws  requiring  playgrounds  to 
be  opened  in  connection  with  the  schools,  while 
local,  State,  and  national  conferences  have  been  held 
on  the  subject. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  307 

The  Playground  and  Juvenile  Delinquency. 

Many,  possibly  most,  of  the  offences  of  children 
in  large  cities  spring  from  a  wholesome  and  natural 
desire  for  play,  a  desire  which  cannot  be  satisfied  in 
the  city  streets.  Arrested  for  some  trivial  offence 
and  brought  in  touch  with  the  police  court,  children 
take  pride  in  their  notoriety  or  the  experience,  or 
are  hardened  by  contact  with  it.  Twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  children  brought  before  the  juvenile 
court  in  New  York  were  charged  with  disorderly 
conduct,  which  consisted  frequently  in  playing  ball, 
or  "cat,"  or  some  other  sport  in  the  streets  which 
is  forbidden  by  law.  The  transition  from  these 
trivial  offences  to  the  graver  ones  is  easy,  and  with- 
out doubt  a  large  part  of  the  juvenile  offenders  are 
led  on  to  crime  by  the  indiscriminate  arrests  and 
contact  with  vice  through  the  police  courts.  Even 
the  gang  is  a  product  of  the  misdirected  play  in- 
stinct. 

Statistics  reported  to  the  National  Education 
Association  in  1910  by  Mr.  Clark  W.  Hetherington 
show  that  of  480  inmates  of  a  juvenile  reformatory 
from  75  to  80  per  cent,  "might  have  been  saved  an 
institutional  career  had  they  had  normal  play  ex- 
perience." It  is  stated  by  the  Playground  and 
Recreation  Association  that  80  per  cent,  of  all 
offences  against  society  are  committed  during  the 
leisure  time  of  the  people. 

The  playground  is  an  effective  agency  for  the 
prevention  of  juvenile  delinquency.  Investigation 
in  Chicago  between  the  years  1904  and  1906  showed 


308  THE  MODERN  CITY 

that  juvenile  delinquency  increased  by  12  per  cent, 
for  the  city  as  a  whole,  while  in  sections  near  the 
recreation  centres  it  fell  off  17  per  cent.,  or  a  gain  of 
29  per  cent,  for  the  neighborhoods  near  the  small 
parks.  In  the  stock-yards  district,  where  the  pop- 
ulation was  very  unstable,  the  juvenile  lawbreakers 
arrested  increased  44  per  cent.,  with  reference  to 
the  city  as  a  whole. 

"The  making  of  a  people's  park  or  playground," 
says  Jacob  A.  Riis,  writing  on  gang  life  in  New  Y 
City,  "has  been  invariably  followed  by  a  decrease 
in  ruffianism  and  gang  violence.  The  boy  would 
rather  be  good  than  bad;  he  would  rather  play  than 
fight  the  pel 

Chicago  Park  Centres. 

The  playground  can,  however,  only  be  used  for 
a  portion  of  the  year  and  a  few  hours  a  day.  Chi- 
cago has  recognized  the  need  for  all-the-y ear-round 
recreation  more  generously  than  any  city  in  th<» 
world.  There  are  nearly  seventy  neighborhood 
(« ntivs  in  tin  <-ity  in  addition  to  the  school  play- 
grounds. These  include  small  parks  and  squares, 
public  playgrounds,  park  centres,  and  bathing 
beaches.  The  movement  dates  back  to  1900,  whm 
four  playgrounds  were  opened  in  the  congested 
districts.  In  1901  legislation  was  secured  aut! 
i/ing  the  expenditure  of  $2,500,000  for  this  purpose. 
The  playgrounds  range  in  size  from  four  to  sixty 
acres  and  have  cost  from  $40,000  to  $290,000  each, 
while  the  buildings  erected  in  connection  with  tl 
have  cost  from  $60,000  to  $100,000  each.  The 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  309 

annual  budget  for  the  maintenance  of  each  centre 
runs  from  $20,000  to  $30,000. 

The  Chicago  park  centres  are  the  most  advanced 
type  of  play  centre  yet  developed.  They  are 
unique  in  the  provision  made  for  mothers,  fathers, 
and  children.  They  are  people's  clubs,  including 
both  outdoor  and  indoor  activities.  They  contain 
separate  gymnasiums  for  men  and  women,  there  are 
running  tracks,  wading  pools,  and  courts  for  the 
children,  with  tennis-courts  and  ball-fields,  which 
are  converted  into  skating-rinks  in  the  winter.  The 
club-house  includes  provision  for  many  social  ac- 
tivities. There  is  a  library  and  reading-room,  with 
other  rooms  for  clubs  and  small  gatherings,  as  well 
as  a  commodious  assembly  hall  for  lectures,  pleasure 
parties,  dances,  and  neighborhood  meetings.  In 
connection  with  the  club  a  lunch  room  or  restaurant 
is  maintained. 

Upon  the  bulletin-board  within  the  club-house 
are  announcements  of  meetings,  while  trained  per- 
sons direct  the  activities  of  the  club  in  a  proper  way. 
There  is  no  charge  for  anything  in  the  clubs  except 
in  the  restaurant,  where  food  is  supplied  at  cost. 
Direction  of  Play. 

Football  and  baseball  games  are  played  on  the 
grounds,  which  are  often  witnessed  by  thousands  of 
people.  Team  games  are  encouraged.  An  athletic 
and  gymnastic  meet  is  held  every  year  for  the  older 
boys  of  all  the  playgrounds.  Prize  contests  are 
held  for  children,  with  exercises  selected  to  fit 
various  ages.  There  are  swimming  contests,  free 


310  THE  MODERN  CITY 

swimming  instruction  being  given.  Even'  effort  is 
made  to  make  the  playgrounds  genuinely  attractive, 
not  simply  to  children  but  to  the  older  boys  and 
girls,  "whose  lives  normally,"  says  Mr.  De  Groot, 
one  of  the  Chicago  directors  of  athletics,  "are  like 
volcanoes  in  action";  and  he  continues:  "Play- 
grounds for  this  group  must  be  lai^ge,  prop 
equipped  and  presided  over,  not  by  a  laborer  or  a 
policeman,  but  by  an  expert  in  the  great  and  serious 
business  of  sport  as  the  boy  understands  it.  . 
Since  the  dominant  interest  in  the  life  of  a  youth 
is  play  and  not  work,  and  since  the  best  growth  and 
development  at  this  age  comes  from  play  and  not 
from  work,  it  seems  that  more  attention  should  be 
given  to  an  all-year  playground  service  and  tha 
should  take  into  consideration  the  young  working 
boys  and  girls  quite  as  much  as  the  children  in  the 
school." 

A  unique  play  festival  was  held  in  one  of  the 
parks,  in  which  over  a  thousand  children  v 
through  plays,  games,  and  dances  in  groups.    There 
were  no  prizes,  the  festival  being  carried  through  by 
the  children  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  getting  togri 
and  doing  it. 

In  all  the  activities  of  the  playgrounds,  indoors 
and  out,  the  educational  motive  is  present.  Fre- 
quent conferences  are  held;  there  is  close  co-op- 
tion between  the  public  library  and  the  park  houses. 
Reading-rooms  in  these  houses  are  equipped  with 
well-selected  collections  of  books,  an  is  free 

<Mi very  service  from  the  main  library.    The  sue- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  311 

cess  of  this  plan  in  opening  the  public  library  to 
wider  use  in  cosmopolitan  districts  has  led  to  the 
installation  of  branch  libraries  in  various  public 
schools. 

The  Public  School  as  a  Recreation  Centre. 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  public  school  has 
been  developed  into  a  recreation  centre  in  hundreds 
of  cities.  The  school  can  be  used  all  the  year 
round,  at  night  as  well  as  during  the  day.  It  can 
be  used  by  adults  as  well  as  children  and  in  the 
country  as  well  as  in  the  city. 

The  schools  are  used  for  educational  purposes 
for  but  six  or  seven  hours  hi  the  day,  for  five  days 
in  the  week,  and  but  nine  months  in  the  year.  They 
lie  idle  in  the  evenings,  the  late  afternoons,  on 
holidays  and  Sundays,  and  are  used  to  not  more 
than  50  per  cent,  of  their  possible  efficiency.  To 
the  school  buildings  the  children  are  accustomed  to 
come.  About  the  life  of  the  children  activities  of 
the  adolescent  and  the  parent  can  be  easily  grouped. 
The  public  school,  with  such  changes  as  will  be  indi- 
cated later,  is  susceptible  of  being  converted  into  an 
institution  not  unlike  the  recreation  centres  of  Chi- 
cago and  at  relatively  little  expense. 

The  Growth  of  the  Social-Centre  Movement. 

The  school  centre  was  first  fully  developed  in 
Rochester,  where  in  1907  the  people  began  to  use 
the  schools  for  public  meetings,  dances,  gymnastics, 
and  banquets;  for  the  discussion  of  public  ques- 
tions and  the  consideration  of  their  local  needs. 
The  board  of  education  appropriated  $5,000  for 


312  THE  MODERN  CITY 

maintaining  the  centres,  and  in  a  short  time  a  fed- 
eration of  schools  was  organized  representing  more 
than  50,000  citizens.  The  gymnasiums  were  opened 
in  the  evening  for  the  use  of  adults  as  well  as  chil- 
dren. The  kindergarten  rooms  were  converted  into 
libraries  to  which  books  were  sent  by  the  public 
library.  The  women  were  organized  into  clubs. 
Lectures  were  provided  and  local  and  State  officials 
were  invited  to  discuss  public  questions.  Since  that 
time  the  movement  has  spread  to  hundreds  of 
cities,  in  many  of  which  the  schools  have  been 
remodelled  to  provide  for  the  widest  possible  com- 
inunity  use. 

Changing  School  Architecture. 

A  recent  publication  of  the  division  of  recreation 
<  >f  1 1 1*  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  by  Clarence  A.  Perry, 
n  virus  the  "Social  Center  Features  in  New  1 
mentary   School   Architect  un  .  "    A  study  of  the 
plans  of  a  score  of  cities  shows  that  boards  of  educa- 

i  are  consciously  adjusting  the  public  school  to 
a  variety  of  uses  which  in  no  way  impair  the  bml  1- 
ing  for  educational  purposes.  Auditoriums  are 

ig  added,  often  fitted  with  movable  seats,  so 
that  the  room  may  be  used  for  dancing,  dramatics, 
music,  and  receptions.  Those  in  the  newer  build- 
ings often  have  stages,  and  in  some  pipe-organs 
arc  installed.  Roof-gardens  are  common  accessories 
in  th<  larger  cities;  baths  have  been  provided  and 
gymnasiums  are  made  serviceable  to  adults  as  well 
as  children.  Inside  playrooms  are  frequently  in- 
cluded, and  even  ward  schools  are  equipped  with 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  313 

regular  gymnasiums.  A  school  in  Beverly,  Mass., 
is  equipped  with  a  bowling-alley,  and  a  Milwaukee 
school  has  pool-tables.  Schools  furnished  with 
gymnasiums  usually  contain  shower-baths  in  the 
adjoining  dressing-rooms,  while  many  of  the  new 
schools  possess  swimming  pools.  Many  of  the 
schools  contain  branch  libraries,  which  are  open  in 
the  evening.  The  rooms  to  be  used  by  the  com- 
munity are  usually  on  the  ground  floor  or  in  the 
basement,  so  as  to  interfere  as  little  as  possible 
with  the  uses  of  the  school  for  instruction. 

New  Uses  of  the  Schools. 

Manual-training  and  domestic-science  rooms  are 
included  in  many  schools,  equipped  with  benches, 
tools,  and  opportunity  for  manual-training  work. 
The  school  kitchens  are  used  for  evening  training 
in  domestic  science  and  make  possible  the  holding 
of  dinners  and  other  functions.  Many  of  the  newer 
buildings  are  provided  with  lunch  rooms.  Prob- 
ably the  most  perfectly  developed  type  of  school 
buildings  are  those  of  Gary,  Ind. 

Medical  and  dental  school  inspection,  which  is 
now  carried  on  in  most  up-to-date  school  systems, 
has  led  to  provision  for  special  rooms  for  this  work. 
Dispensaries  are  placed  in  many  of  the  newer  build- 
ings, as  well  as  rest  rooms  and  laboratories.  In 
Los  Angeles,  Milwaukee,  Worcester  (Mass.),  and 
Chicago,  rooms  are  set  aside  for  polling-places,  and 
in  some  cities  political  meetings  are  held  in  the 
auditoriums. 

Of  the  school  centre  as  an  adjunct  to  the  public 


314  THE  MODERN  CITY 

library,  Doctor  Charles  E.  McLenegan,  the  public  li- 
brarian of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  says: 

"Another  great  advantage  of  this  branch  in  the 
schoolhouse  is  that  it  gives  every  home  an  almost 
ideal  means  of  communication  with  the  library— 
and  that  is  one  of  the  unsolved  problems  in  a  large 
library — how  the  home  may  communicate  with  the 
library." 

It  has  been  suggested  that  an  employment  agency 
be  part  of  the  extended  activities  of  the  school. 
Doctor  John  R.  Commons,  of  the  University  of  Wb- 
consin,  says  the  schoolhouse  should  contain  public 
employment  bureaus  which  will  take  the  place  of 
the  private  agencies.  "The  schoolhouse/'  he  says, 
"is  the  natural  place  for  labor  exchanges  such  as 
exist  in  Germany  and  Great  Britain.  Here  man* 
less  jobs  and  jobless  men  will  meet:  here  the  prob- 
lem of  demand  and  supply  will  be  stud 
The  School  as  a  Musical,  Dramatic,  and  Art  Centre. 

The  school  is  also  being  developed  as  a  music 
The  old-fashioned  singing-school  was  an 
outgrowth  of  the  demand  for  community  music, 
for  folk  singing,  for  which  the  modern  social  centre 
again  makes  provision.  Choral  singing  has  been 
successfully  developed  in  many  cities.  In  New 
York  the  People's  Music  League  of  the  People's 
Institute  uses  the  public  schools  for  giving  concerts, 
tin*  organization  of  choral  and  orchestral  societies, 
and  the  extension  of  musical  training.  Over  one 
hundred  concerts  were  given  in  1914  and  a  half- 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  315 

dozen  volunteer  orchestras  were  organized.  These 
concerts  are  given  with  professional  and  amateur 
talent. 

Some  years  ago  the  educational  theatre  was 
organized  on  the  East  Side  of  New  York.  A  dra- 
matic group  was  formed  among  the  boys,  girls,  and 
wage-earners  of  the  neighborhood,  who  gave  selected 
plays.  Classes  were  organized  in  dramatics  and 
story-telling.  After  witnessing  one  of  the  plays, 
President  Eliot,  of  Harvard,  said: 

"Here  is  this  tremendous  power  over  children 
and  over  fathers  and  mothers  that  ought  to  be  out- 
lined for  their  good.  It  is  true  that  the  dramatic 
instinct  is  very  general  and  it  can  be  used  to  put  into 
the  hearts  and  minds  of  children  and  adults  all  sorts 
of  noble  and  influential  thoughts;  and  that  is  the 
use  that  ought  to  be  made  of  it.  Think  what  it  is 
for  any  child  of  ten  or  sixteen  to  learn  by  heart  a 
great  play  of  Shakespeare  or  some  other  noble 
artist.  .1  have  seen  it  among  the  children  of  my 
own  family." 

The  Educational  Dramatic  League,  another  or- 
ganization in  New  York,  uses  the  school  auditoriums 
for  the  presentation  of  selected  plays  by  school 
children  and  wage-earners.  Nearly  forty  instruct- 
ors train  neighborhood  groups  in  dramatic  expres- 
sion, and  in  the  spring  of  the  year  competitions  of 
selected  plays  are  given  by  these  groups.  During 
the  year  1914  over  1,200  persons  were  organized 
in  these  groups. 

The  corridors  of  the  Washington  Irving  High 


316  THE  MODERN  CITY 

School,  New  York,  were  planned  for  the  holding  of 
art  and  other  exhibitions,  and  during  the  year  1914 
several  creditable  exhibitions  were  given.  The  city 
of  Richmond,  Ind.,  uses  its  schoolhouses  as  art 
centres  and  thus  saves  the  expense  of  separate 
buildings,  while  the  pictures  are  placed  where  they 
will  most  benefit  the  community.  Half  a  d< 
other  Indiana  cities  have  joined  with  Richmond  to 
form  an  art  circuit,  in  all  of  which  cities  the  school 
buildings  are  used  to  house  the  exhibitions. 
The  Problem  of  Leisure. 

.Juvenile  recreation  is  only  a  part  of  the  feisure- 
timc  problem;  for  the  hours  of  leisure  are  the  form- 
ative hours  of  life.  This  is  as  true  of  adult*  a 
is  of  children.  Civilization,  in  fact,  depends  largely 
on  the  way  the  people  use  their  leisure.  We  sea 
this  in  ancient  Greece,  which  produced  an  art, 
drama,  literature,  and  philosophy  that  has 
riched  subsequent  centuries.  The  culture  of  Greece 
was  a  product  of  the  wise  use  of  leisure  time.  The 
people  met  in  the  streets,  temples,  and  amphi- 
theatres, and  distinction  in  the  arts  became  the  con- 
trolling ambition  of  the  communi' 

many  also  officially  recognizes  the  leisure  life 
of  the  people.  Cities  build  splendid  opera-houses 
and  theatres  which  are  subsidized  and  maintained 
at  public  expense.  E\«  r\  lar^e  city  has  an  art 
gallery  and  museum  upon  which  great  sums  are 
ended.  There  are  concert  halls  in  which  a 
municipal  orchestra  gives  symphony  concerts  at  an 
insignificant  cost,  while  during  the  summer  months 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  317 

military  bands  attract  old  and  young  to  the  parks 
and  open  spaces,  where  they  listen  to  the  best  of 
music  in  an  orderly  way.  In  consequence  of  this 
public  provision  for  leisure  the  whole  nation  is 
being  trained  in  the  drama,  in  art,  in  music.  Its 
leisure  life  is  consciously  moulded  by  the  com- 
munity. 

The  Commercialization  of  Leisure. 

Under  the  individualistic  tendencies  of  America 
leisure  has  been  left  to  commerce.  And  commerce 
exploits  it  in  the  saloon,  the  private  dance  hall,  the 
motion-picture  show,  the  pool-room,  and  the  theatre. 
Only  an  insignificant  percentage  of  the  population 
of  a  great  city  is  reached  by  the  public  agencies, 
while  at  least  95  per  cent,  frequent  the  commer- 
cialized agencies.  In  New  York  there  are  11,500 
saloons,  800  dance  halls,  and  600  motion-picture 
shows,  in  which  it  has  been  estimated  that  the  peo- 
ple spend  $100,000,000  a  year.  The  commercialized 
agencies  are  not  interested  in  culture;  they  are 
interested  in  profits.  They  have  no  concern  for 
the  people's  life;  they  push  their  allurements;  they 
connect  them  with  the  most  profitable  forms  of 
vice  in  order  to  still  further  increase  their  profits. 

The  results  are  obvious.  Investigations  have 
shown  that  juvenile  crime  is  largely  traceable  to  the 
influences  which  surround  children  during  their 
play  hours.  Men  and  women  in  the  tenement  have 
no  other  place  to  go  than  the  saloon  and  the  motion- 
picture  show,  and  they,  too,  reflect  the  way  they  use 
their  leisure  hours.  Girls  frequent  the  commercial 


318  THE  MODERN  CITY 

dance  hall,  and  vice  is  recruited  from  this  source. 
The  recent  Chicago  vice  commission  says: 

iere  are  approximately  275  public  dance  halls 
in  Chicago  which  are  rented  periodically  to  so-called 
pleasure  clubs  and  societies  or  are  conducted  by  in- 
dividuals. .  .  .  Many  of  these  halls  are  frequented 
by  minors,  both  boys  and  girls,  and  in  some  in- 
stances they  are  surrounded  by  great  temptations 
and  dangers.  Practically  no  effort  is  made  by  the 
managers  to  observe  the  laws  regarding  the  sale 
of  liquor  to  minors.  Nor  is  the  provision  of  the 
ordinance  relating  to  disreputable  persons  observed. 
In  nearly  <  \<  r\  hall  visited,  investigators  have  seen 
professional  and  semi-professional  prostitutes.  . 

-ome  instances  they  were  accompanied  by  their 
cadets  who  were  continually  on  the  outlook 
new  victims.11 

All  of  these  reasons  point  to  the  necessity  for  a 
much  more  serious  consideration  of  the  leisure-time 
problem  by  the  city  and  largely  increased  appro- 
priations for  this  purpose. 
A  Constructive  Leisure-Time  Programme. 

Wisconsin  has  promoted  a  leisure-time  programme, 
under  the  direction  of  the  State  university,  on  a 
much  wider  scale  than  any  State  in  the  Union.  A 
university-extension  department  has  been  organ- 
ized with  centres  scattered  throughout  the  State, 
in  which  directors  and  oiganiiers  are  located  for 
the  purpose  of  promoting  university  teaching.  In- 
structors are  sent  out  from  the  university,  while 
selected  lyceum  courses  and  musical  entertainments 
are  also  offered.  Communities  are  encouraged  to 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  319 

open  the  schoolhouses  as  branches  of  the  university, 
into  which  the  people  are  attracted  by  neighbor- 
hood activities  as  well  as  by  the  offerings  of  the 
university.  Classes  in  mechanics,  electricity,  and 
vocational  work  are  organized  in  connection  with 
manufacturing  plants,  while  courses  are  given  by 
correspondence  in  which  those  students  who  pass 
satisfactory  examinations  are  entitled  to  credit  for  a 
university  degree. 

The  motive  of  this  work,  according  to  the  dean 
of  the  extension  division,  is  to  "  carry  the  university 
to  the  people." 

Through  this  plan  a  lifelong  educational  pro- 
gramme has  been  developed.  The  university  is 
projected  into  every  community  hi  the  State.  The 
extension  work  is  on  a  democratic  basis,  the  aim  of 
the  university  being  to  meet  and  co-operate  with  the 
people  in  their  spontaneous  interests.  The  school- 
house  is  made  an  educational  centre,  not  only  for 
the  conduct  of  classes  and  the  distribution  of  expert 
advice  and  information  from  the  university,  but  for 
the  free  discussion  of  live  questions  of  local  and 
general  interest.  A  circulating-library  department 
is  maintained,  which  distributes  books,  magazines, 
and  clippings,  while  package  libraries  are  sent  out 
to  organizations  or  individuals  free  of  charge. 

Civilization  and  Leisure. 

The  leisure-time  problem  is  a  problem  of  one 
third  of  life  and  in  many  ways  the  most  important 
third.  It  means  more  than  recuperation  from  work; 
more  than  freedom  from  vice;  more  than  the  invig- 


320  THE  MODERN  CITY 

oration  of  the  body  or  the  preservation  of  health 

>lves  opportunities  for  education  to  those  denied 
it  in  youth:  it  involves  increasing  the  industrial, 
ie,  and  social  efficiency  of  men  and  women  as  weD 
as  opportunity  for  change,  variety,  and  training 
which  machine  industry  has  destroyed.  If  we 
would  preserve  and  promote  our  civilization,  the 
same  official  concern  must  be  given  to  leisure  that 
is  now  given  to  education;  the  same  thought  that 
is  given  to  the  work  hours  of  the  people. 

And  just  as  the  coming  of  the  city,  with  the  close 
living  of  people,  made  it  necessary  for  the  com- 
munity to  provide  for  the  supply  of  water  as  a  san- 
itary precaution,  just  as  it  became  necessary  to 
install  sewer  systems,  to  provide  polic-  and 

health  protection,  so  the  metropolitan  city,  with  Its 
<lifT-<l  welling  population  divorced  from  the  open 
fields,  with  its  inadequate  home  life  and  the  chang- 
ing social  relations,  has  made  it  necessary  for  the 
community  it>«-lf  to  make  provision  for  leisure.  In 
a  sense  such  provision  is  as  important  as  is  elemen- 
tary education,  for  it  determines  the  nature  of  the 
family  lif« ,  it  moulds  the  child  and  the  adult 
shapes  the  character  and  morals  of  the  people. 
Even  the  cultural  life  of  a  nation  is  a  mirror  of  its 
leisure-time  activities. 

Summary* 

Public  provision  for  recreation  is  one  of  America's 
contributions  to  the  municipal  problem.  No  coun- 
try in  tli.-  world  has  promoted  playgrounds,  schools, 
public  libraries,  and  other  agencies  as  intelligently 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  LEISURE  321 

as  have  we.  Leisure  is  being  recognized  as  a  public 
problem,  which  affects  not  only  the  health  but  the 
morals  and  intellectual  life  of  the  people  as  well. 
In  spite  of  what  has  been  done,  the  leisure  life  of  old 
and  young  has  been  left  largely  to  commerce,  which, 
through  the  saloon,  the  dance  hall,  and  the  motion- 
picture  show,  exploits  the  life  of  the  people  in  its 
leisure  time.  New  York  City  is  developing  a  com- 
prehensive programme  of  recreational  activities,  with 
the  public  school  as  a  centre,  in  which  music,  the 
drama,  and  dancing  are  being  promoted,  while  the 
State  of  Wisconsin  has  worked  out  a  constructive 
educational  programme  with  the  State  university  as 
the  centre  and  the  public  schools  as  the  local  unit. 

Provision  for  leisure  is  coming  to  be  recognized 
as  just  as  much  a  necessary  public  function  as  pro- 
vision for  fire,  police,  and  health  departments,  the 
supply  of  water,  or  any  other  traditional  services  of 
the  city. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
THE  CITY  BUDGET 

THE  income  and  expenditure  accounts  of  the  city 
are  expressed  in  its  annual  budget,  which  is  pre- 
pared for  twelve  months  in  advance.  The  income 
of  the  city  is  derived  (1)  from  taxes,  (2)  from  the 
sale  of  bonds  to  be  retired  from  taxes,  (3)  from  com- 
mercial undertakings,  and  (4)  from  fees.  Unlike  a 
private  business,  the  payments  are  for  the  most  part 
compulsory,  while  the  expenditures  are  made  for 
the  whole  community  irrespective  of  the  services 
rendered  to  any  particular  person.  A  man  may  be 
a  large  taxpayer  and  have  no  children  in  the  schools; 
he  may  never  use  the  hospitals  or  parks  or  be 
actually  protected  by  the  police  and  fire  depart- 
ments. On  the  other  hand,  even  if  he  pays  no  dii 
taxes  at  all,  the  schools  are  open  to  his  children  as 
are  the  parks  and  playgrounds,  his  property  is  pro- 
tected from  fire  and  his  person  from  violence.  The 
services  of  the  city  are  offered  to  all  and  are  paid 
for  by  a  uniform  charge,  while  the  charges 
private  business  are  fixed  on  the  basis  of  a  quid  pro 
quo. 

The  Budget  of  the  City. 

The  annual  budget  of  the  city  is  prepared  by  the 
council,  usually  on  recommendations  from  the  hi 

322 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  323 

of  the  various  departments.  In  it  the  income  and 
expenditure  account  for  the  ensuing  year  are  set  out 
in  detail.  Cities  first  estimate  their  probable  expen- 
ditures and  then  provide  the  revenue  for  meeting 
them.  In  this,  too,  the  city  differs  from  a  pri- 
vate corporation,  whose  income  controls  its  ex- 
penditures and  which  can  and  does  alter  its  budget 
from  day  to  day  as  expediency  requires. 

Current  expenses  are  met  by  taxes,  while  improve- 
ments of  a  permanent  character  are  usually  paid 
for  by  the  sale  of  bonds  or  stock,  which  are  in  the 
nature  of  a  lien  or  mortgage  upon  all  the  property, 
both  public  and  private,  within  the  city,  v  Bonds 
run  for  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  years  and  bear 
from  3  to  4  J/£  per  cent,  interest.  Certain  permanent 
improvements,  like  streets  and  sewers,  are  paid  for 
by  short-term  bonds  assessed  against  the  property 
immediately  benefited  by  the  improvements.  Some 
cities  avoid  general  indebtedness  and  pay^for  many 
permanent  improvements  out  of  taxation. 

Municipal  Taxation  and  Assessment. 

The  current  revenue  is  collected  by  taxes  on  real 
and  personal  property,  from  mercantile  taxes  and 
license  fees,  the  bulk  of  it  coming  from  direct  taxes 
on  real  estate,  although  in  the  Southern  cities  a  con- 
siderable revenue  comes  from  license  taxes  on  busi- 
ness. 

The  first  step  in  the  collection  of  taxes  is  the 
preparation  of  the  assessment  roll  which  is  the 
valuation  of  all  property  taxable  under  the  law. 
This  is  done  by  officials  chosen  for  the  purpose.  In 


324  THE  MODERN  CITY 

former  years  assessors  were  elected  from  wards  or 
districts,  but  this  led  to  favoritism,  to  a  tendency 
to  undervaluation  and  many  inequalities.  Assess- 
ing officials  are  now  generally  appointed  by  the 
mayor  and  are  responsible  to  him,  and  instead  of 
being  designated  to  assess  a  ward  or  taxing  district 
they  assess  the  entire  city  as  a  unit.  This  is  the 
better  practice.  By  this  means  uniformity  is  se- 
cured and  sectional  discriminations  avoided.  In 
New  York  assessments  are  made  by  the  commis- 
sioners of  taxes  and  assessments,  who  are  appointed 
by  the  mayor.  And  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
New  York  has  probably  the  best  system  of  local 
taxation  in  the  world.  Property  is  assessed  each 
year,  and  the  assessments  on  real  estate  are  made 
more  nearly  accurate  than  in  any  city  in  America, 
the  property  being  appraised  at  approximately  ita 
full  value.  Boston  and  Cleveland  have  substan- 
tially tin*  same  practice.  Land  and  improvements 
are  valued  separately,  which  enables  the  owner  to 
judge  of  the  correctness  of  the  assessments. 

Separation  of  land  and  improvements  was  a  great 
advance  in  tax  assessments.  It  made  it  possible  to 
adopt  a  uniform  standard  of  full  value,  which  is  the 
baas  required  by  most  of  our  State  constitutions. 

When  the  valuation  is  completed  owners  are 
notified  and  given  an  opportunity  to  appear  before 
the  board  and  be  heard  on  the  valuation  imposed 
on  their  property.  When  finally  approved  the  valu- 
ations are  entered  on  the  tax  record  under  the  name 
of  the  owner,  with  a  description  of  the  property. 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  325 

Real  and  Personal  Property  Taxation. 

Personal  property,  including  stocks,  bonds,  mort- 
gages, household  furniture,  machinery,  and  mer- 
chandise, is  valued  like  real  estate  and  is  added  to 
it  in  making  up  the  assessment  rolls.  No  city  has 
yet  been  able  to  assess  personal  property  at  any- 
thing like  its  full  value.  The  means  of  evasion  are 
so  numerous,  and  the  tax  rate  upon  securities  is  so 
high,  that  public  opinion  has  come  to  justify  eva- 
sions, while  many  experts  urge  the  abandonment 
of  the  taxation  of  personal  property  because  it 
leads  to  perjury  on  the  part  of  taxpayers  and,  in  so 
far  as  intangible  stocks  and  bonds  are  concerned,  to 
double  taxation. 

A  special  commission  in  New  York  City  in  1906 
declared: 

"The  personal  property  tax  is  a  farce.  It  falls 
inequitably  upon  the  comparatively  few  who  are 
caught.  The  burden  it  imposes  upon  production 
is  all  out  of  proportion  to  the  revenue  it  produces. 
Year  after  year,  state  and  local  assessing  boards 
have  denounced  it  as  impracticable  in  its  workings 
and  unjust  in  its  results.  ...  It  is  time  the  sit- 
uation was  faced  squarely  and  the  tax  in  its  present 
form  abolished.  .  .  .  So  far  as  the  personal  property 
tax  attempts  to  reach  intangible  forms  of  wealth, 
its  administration  is  so  comical  as  to  have  become 
a  by-word.  In  practice  it  has  come  to  be  merely  a 
requisition  by  the  board  of  assessors  upon  leading 
citizens  for  such  donations  as  assessors  think  should 
be  made,  and  is  paid  as  assessed  or  reduced  as  the 
citizen  agrees  with  the  estimate  of  the  assessor. 
Such  a  method  of  collecting  revenue  would  be  a 


326  THE  MODERN  CITY 

serious  menace  to  democratic  institutions  were  it  not 
recognized  as  a  howling  farce." 

The  public  service  corporations  which  occupy 
the  streets  are  sometimes  assessed  as  physical  prop- 
erty, sometimes  on  their  franchise  value.  In  some 
States  a  tax  is  assessed  against  their  earnings  in  the 
form  of  a  gross-receipts  tax.  The  franchises  are 
frequently  of  more  value  than  the  property  itself. 
In  New  York  City  the  franchises  alone  of  the  public 
service  corporations  for  1913  were  appraised  at 
$438,861,581.  In  that  year  the  assessable  real  and 
personal  property  of  the  city  was  as  follows: 

Red  estate  . .  $8,006,647,861 

Personal  property...  835,421,340 

Total  $8,332,069,201 

The  total  valuation  of  real  and  personal  property 
forms  the  basis  upon  which  taxes  are  assessed. 
Upon  this  basis  a  certain  number  of  dollars  are 
levied  on  each  $100  of  valuation.  In  other  words, 
for  each  $100  of  property  owned  the  taxpayer  pays 
a  certain  number  of  dollars  to  the  city  for  its  sup- 
port and  maintenance.  This  is  the  chief  sourc< 
local  revenues. 

In  addition  to  the  taxes  upon  real  and  personal 
property  a  substantial  sum  is  collected  in  the 
Southern  cities  from  taxes  upon  business,  while 
most  of  our  States  exact  high  license  fees  on  the 
sale  of  intoxicating  liquors.  Saloon  licenses  range 
from  $300  to  $2,000  a  year.  The  estimated  receipts 
from  saloon  licenses  in  New  York  in  1913  were 
$4,378,233. 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  327 

In  addition  to  its  ordinary  revenues  the  extraor- 
dinary needs  of  the  city  are  met  by  the  sale  of 
bonds  or  corporate  stock.  These  bonds  are  sold, 
after  advertisement,  to  the  highest  bidder,  although 
some  cities  have  retailed  their  bonds  by  popular 
sale  over  the  counter.  Provision  is  usually  made 
for  an  annual  sinking-fund  levy,  to  provide  for 
repayment  of  the  bonds  in  a  certain  number  of 
years.  The  receipts  from  this  levy  are  used  to  buy 
back  a  portion  of  the  bonds  each  year,  which  then 
cease  to  be  an  obligation  of  the  city. 

Appropriations. 

The  expenditures  of  the  city  are  provided  for  in 
the  annual  appropriation  ordinance,  which  also  de- 
termines the  amount  of  taxes  to  be  collected.  This 
is  the  city  budget.  It  covers  a  period  of  twelve 
months,  and  once  adopted  it  can  only  be  changed  by 
a  two  thirds  or  three  fourths  vote  of  the  council. 
In  this  respect  the  city  has  none  of  the  flexibility 
of  a  private  business,  which  can  change  its  expendi- 
tures from  day  to  day  as  necessity  requires. 

The  appropriation  ordinance  is  nominally  pre- 
pared by  the  finance  committee  of  the  council,  but 
in  practice  it  is  generally  prepared  by  the  mayor 
in  consultation  with  the  heads  of  the  various  de- 
partments. Recent  city  charters  recognize  this  fact 
and  lodge  the  preparation  of  the  budget  in  the  hands 
of  the  mayor  or,  as  in  New  York,  in  the  board  of 
estimate  and  apportionment. 

Budgetary  estimates  are  first  received  from  each 
department  and  are  then  discussed  by  the  mayor 


328  THE  MODERN  CITY 

and  his  associates  or  by  the  finance  committee  of 
the  council.  As  a  matter  of  practice  the  council 
usually  does  little  more  than  register  the  recom- 
mendations as  they  come  to  it.  The  mayor  can 
veto  the  entire  ordinance  and  in  many  cities  any 
individual  item  of  it.  By  this  means  be  is  abl 
checkmate  log-rolling  by  council  members  or  the  pad- 
ding of  appropriations. 

Recent  Budgetary  Improvements. 

Great  improvement  has  been  made  in  municipal 
accounting  in  recent  years.  Up  to  very  recently 
there  was  no  uniformity  in  the  methods  emplo\ 
accounts  were  obscure;  they  could  not  be  understood 
by  the  citizens.  The  bureau  of  municipal  research 
of  New  York  examined  the  financial  reports  of 
seventy-five  American  cities  and  reported  that 

"Sixty-eight  do  not  show,  with  respect  to  current 
expenses  and  revenues,  how  much  they  have  sp« 
including  bills  not  paid  and  revenues  due  but  not 
yet  received.  .  .  .    Assets  are  not  shown  by  fo: 
eight  of  tli*  <it ics,  which  thus  have  no  balance  sheet 
Twenty-nine  do  not  show  the  balance  of  appro- 
priations unexpended,  and  twenty-one  do  not  state 
th.-ir  bonded  debt.     If  the  books  of  large  private 
corporations  were  kept  with  the  looseness  displa 
by  the  municipalities,  no  expert  accountant  would 
or  could  certify  to  their  correctness." 

This  lack  of  uniformity  makes  it  impossible  for 
cities  to  compare  their  needs  or  the  cost  of  their 
activities  with  those  of  other  <  ities.  In  1902  the 
State  of  Ohio  created  a  State  bureau  for  the  cert  ifica- 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  329 

tion  and  supervision  of  city  accounts.  Under  this 
bureau  a  standard  system  was  developed  which  is 
now  employed  by  all  cities.  The  municipal  sta- 
tistics of  Massachusetts  are  published  by  a  State 
bureau,  while  a  number  of  Western  States  have 
adopted  uniform  accounting  laws. 

Some  years  ago  the  city  of  New  York  organized 
an  annual  budget  exhibit  in  which  all  the  activities 
and  expenditures  were  displayed  in  a  graphic  way. 
The  debt,  taxation,  valuation  of  property,  the 
appropriations  and  needs  of  various  departments 
were  all  presented  by  diagrams  or  other  exhibits  for 
study  by  the  public.  Daily  meetings  were  held  for 
several  weeks,  to  which  citizens  were  invited,  at 
which  the  heads  of  the  departments  set  forth  the 
work  being  done,  the  plans  for  the  future,  and  their 
respective  needs. 

Milwaukee  has  established  a  bureau  of  economy 
and  efficiency.  It  employed  a  director  with  assist- 
ants to  thoroughly  overhaul  the  business  methods 
of  the  city.  Surveys  were  made  of  each  depart- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  simplifying  and  unifying 
accounts.  The  aim  of  the  bureau  was  to  so  per- 
fect the  budget  that  waste  and  extravagance  would 
be  difficult,  while  the  budget  itself  would  be  easily 
understood.  The  bureau  also  studied  a  number 
of  municipal  activities  including  the  method  of  ref- 
use collection  and  garbage  disposal,  paving  specifi- 
cations, and  made  great  economies  in  these  branches 
of  city  work.  Surveys  were  made  of  health  and 
sanitation,  of  the  supply  of  milk,  of  the  water-rates, 


330  HIE  MODERN  CITY 

even  of  boiler  efficiency.  Experts  from  other  cities 
were  associated  with  the  department  in  health, 
sanitation,  construction  work,  and  accounting. 
Units  of  cost  were  established  so  that  it  became 
easily  possible  to  judge  as  to  whether  work  was 
economically  done.  By  these  means  Milwaukee  ad- 
justed the  idea  of  the  expert,  whom  Germany  se- 
cures through  the  trained  burgomaster,  to  the  po- 
litical machinery  of  the  American  city.  Without 
changing  the  charter  it  brought  to  the  work  of  the 
city  men  of  high  talents  whose  services  could  be  se- 
cured in  no  other  way. 

The  New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research. 

The  most  brilliant  achievement  in  the  field  of 
municipal  accounting  is  that  of  the  bureau  of  munic- 
ipal research  of  New  York  City,  which  was  organ- 
ized in  1906  by  a  group  of  public-spirited  citixens. 
It  has  made  studies  of  almost  every  activity  of  the 
and  has  brought  about  the  reorganisation  of 
many  of  them.  An  increase  of  $2,000,000  a  year  in 
the  revenues  of  the  water  department  was  achieved, 
$723,000  was  recovered  from  street-railroad  com- 
panies for  paving  done  at  public  expense.  Im- 
provements were  made  in  the  method  of  inspection, 
audit,  and  the  payment  of  bills  at  the  compt 
office,  while  a  number  of  officials  were  removed 
because  of  disclosures  made  in  their  departments. 
In  addition  to  its  financial  activities,  a  national 
training-school  for  public  service  was  established, 
a  bureau  of  child  hygiene  in  connection  with  the 
health  department  was  organised,  and  a  conference 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  331 

on  the  summer  care  of  babies  was  promoted.  Nu- 
merous publications  have  been  issued  by  the  bureau 
and  periodical  reports  are  made  upon  many  lines  of 
municipal  activity.  Through  the  bureau  New  York 
has  been  familiarized  with  budget  making  and  many 
of  the  wastes  and  extravagances  have  been  brought 
to  an  end. 

The  bureau  assumes  that  a  continuing  increase 
in  municipal  expenditure  may  be  expected,  but  says 
that  economy,  efficiency,  and  knowledge  should  pre- 
cede new  activities.  It  says: 

"The  new  altruism  in  each  locality  is  demanding 
ever  increasing  expenditures.  Today's  volunteer 
kindergarten  association  means  a  demand  tomor- 
row for  kindergarten  in  all  public  schools.  A  diet 
kitchen  or  a  milk  committee  today  means  a  demand 
for  inspected  dairies  and  milk  shops  tomorrow. 
An  up-to-date,  live  merchants'  association  means  a 
demand  for  an  ideal  city  in  1915  as  in  Boston,  de- 
mand for  medical  examination  of  school  children 
as  in  Cleveland,  demand  for  broad  thoroughfares, 
connecting  parkways,  boulevards  and  civic  centres, 
as  in  Chicago.  This  wave  cannot  be  stopped.  The 
American  people  have  reached  a  point  where  they 
must,  to  quote  Mr.  Harriman,  'get  more  govern- 
ment and  better  government  at  less  price.'  What- 
ever is  done,  budget  reform  is  indispensable."1 

How  Money  is  Expended. 

A  generation  ago  the  finances  of  the  city  were  in 
the  greatest  confusion.  To  check  these  abuses  it 

1  For  accounts  of  the  efficiency  movement  in  city  administration, 
see  The  New  City  Government,  by  Henry  Bruere,  and  articles  in  the 
National  Municipal  Review  on  the  research  bureaus  of  many  cities. 


332  THE  MODERN  CITY 

was  provided  by  law  that  the  budgets  roust  be 
prepared  annually  and  that  money  could  only  be 
spent  for  the  objects  and  purposes  specified.  Be- 
fore any  bills  can  be  paid  they  must  be  audited  and 
approved  as  to  price,  quantity,  and  quality.  The 
auditor  then  issues  a  warrant,  which  is  paid  by  the 
treasurer.  In  addition  payments  can  only  be  made 
when  the  expenditure  or  contract  has  previously 
been  approved  by  the  council.  Individual  depart- 
ments can  incur  indebtedness  in  small  sums  for 
emergency  needs,  but  all  wages  and  all  obligations 
must  be  on  record  and  approved  by  the  city  council. 
This  prevents  the  misuse  of  city  funds. 

In  New  York  an  elaborate  system  has  been  de- 
veloped by  the  comptroller  for  auditing  prices  and 
quality  of  materials.  Engineers  and  experts  are 
employed  who  certify  not  only  as  to  quantity  but 
as  to  quality  and  price.  This  gives  the  comptroller, 
who  is  an  independent  official  elected  at  large,  a 
check  upon  other  departments,  and  is  a  means  of 
insuring  economy  in  city  administration. 

Many  cities  have  also  provided  for  a  central  pur- 
chasing agency  which  buys  materials  and  supplies 
for  all  departments.  Buying  in  large  quantities,  such 
a  department  is  able  to  advertise,  secure  the  lowest 
possible  quotations,  and  effect  great  economies. 
Financial  Limitations  on  the  City. 

In  a  previous  chapter1  certain  institutional  lim- 
itations on  the  American  city  were  discussed  as  an 
explanation  of  its  failures.  Among  these  is  the 

1  Chapter  VI,  "The  City  and  tbt  8UU." 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  333 

inability  of  the  city  to  control  its  own  financial 
operations.  It  cannot  determine  for  itself  what 
kinds  of  taxes  it  will  levy.  These  are  uniform  as  to 
the  whole  State.  Nor  can  it  collect  taxes  in  excess 
of  a  maximum  rate  or  issue  bonds  beyond  a  certain 
percentage  of  the  taxable  valuation,  which  percent- 
age ranges  from  2  J^  to  10  per  cent.  In  other  words, 
the  revenue  of  the  city  is  arbitrarily  fixed,  as  is  the 
amount  of  the  city's  indebtedness.  While  a  busi- 
ness man  can  manage  his  business  as  his  intelligence 
and  needs  suggest  and  mortgage  his  property  without 
limit  and  frequently  up  to  50,  75,  or  even  100  per 
cent,  of  its  value,  the  city  is  limited  to  a  very  low 
and  usually  a  wholly  inadequate  sum.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  serious  limitations  on  the  American  city, 
as  any  one  familiar  with  its  administration  knows. 
The  revenues  are  inelastic,  they  bear  no  necessary 
relation  to  needs  and  preclude  the  city  from  entering 
on  a  big,  constructive  policy,  such  as  the  ownership 
of  needed  services  or  the  making  of  many  improve- 
ments. 

Most  cities  are  already  up  to  the  limit  of  their 
borrowing  capacity.  New  York  was  compelled  to 
enter  into  a  most  costly  contract  with  private  cap- 
ital for  the  construction  of  its  subways;  it  is  unable 
to  develop  its  dock  and  harbor  front  and  can  do 
little  more  than  provide  for  its  urgent  needs.  The 
debt  limit  of  New  York  is  10  per  cent,  of  the  as- 
sessed valuation.  In  Ohio  it  is  much  lower,  and 
Ohio  cities  are  unable  to  carry  out  even  the  most 
elementary  improvements  for  the  safety  and  com- 


334  THE  MODERN  CITY 

fort  of  the  community,  while  municipal  ownership 
is  out  of  the  question.  Other  cities  are  in  the  same 
situation.  As  a  consequence  the  American  city  is 
compelled  to  build  from  day  to  day,  to  live  from 
hand  to  mouth.  Big  planning  and  development 
projects  are  out  of  the  question,  and  not  only  is  the 
health  and  comfort  and  beauty  of  the  town  imperilled 
but  the  commercial  prosperity  as  well.  The  Amer- 
ican city  can  never  hope  to  rise  very  high  above  ita 
present  level  until  these  arbitrary  limitations  are 
removed  and  the  city  is  given  wider  latitude  and 
greater  freedom  in  its  financing.  This  is  a  pri- 
mary need  of  the  city.  Its  development  waits  on 
home  rule  in  its  financial  operations,  including  tax- 
ation. 

Financial  Powers  of  European  Cities. 

In  European  countries  there  are  no  such  legal 
limitations  on  the  tax  rate  or  the  bonded  indebted- 
ness. The  German  city  can  borrow  to  any  amount, 
subject  only  to  the  approval  of  the  interior  depart- 
ment, \\hi.-h  encourages  rather  than  represses  mu- 
nicipal expenditures,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  gen- 
erally to  the  advantage  of  a  city  to  go  in  debt.  In 
England  cities  make  application  to  Parliament  and 
the  local  government  board  for  permission  to  make 
a  loan,  and  if  the  project  is  approved  the  city  is  per- 
mitted to  issue  bonds  up  to  the  limit  provided  by 
law  or  the  special  order.  Each  city  and  each 
undertaking  is  judged  on  its  merits.  The  indebted- 
ness of  the  progressive  cities  of  Europe  is  generally 
in  excess  of  that  of  American  cities. 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  335 

The  average  indebtedness  of  thirteen  British 
cities  with  an  average  population  of  above  200,000 
is  over  $100  per  capita,  while  many  cities  have  a 
very  much  larger  debt.  Manchester  has  a  per- 
capita  debt  of  $180,  although  a  considerable  part 
of  this  was  incurred  in  the  building  of  the  Manchester 
Ship  Canal.  The  debt  of  German  cities  is  also  high. 
Frankfort  has  a  per-capita  debt  of  $140,  Diisseldorf 
of  $130,  Munich  of  $125,  and  Charlottenburg  of 
$120.  The  per-capita  debt  of  American  cities,  aside 
from  New  York,  which  is  $207.16,  is  much  lower. 
That  of  Chicago  is  $43.92,  of  Cleveland  $66.29,  of 
Detroit  $30.31,  of  Milwaukee  $42.47,  of  Washington 
$44.84,  of  Philadelphia  $65.09. 

Productive  Indebtedness. 

Not  only  is  the  indebtedness  of  the  European  city 
far  in  excess  of  that  of  the  American  city,  but  a 
large  part,  frequently  from  60  to  80  per  cent.,  of  the 
debt  of  the  German  city  is  for  purposes  that  involve 
no  burden  on  the  taxpayers.  It  is  for  business 
undertakings  that  pay  their  way,  like  street-rail- 
ways, gas,  electric-light,  and  water  undertakings. 
The  total  debt  of  Berlin  is  $99,254,000,  of  which 
$64,767,000  is  for  productive  undertakings;  of 
Magdeburg  $15,000,000,  of  which  $7,775,000  is  for 
such  activities,  and  of  Dusseldorf  $28,585,000,  of 
which  85  per  cent,  is  self-supporting  or  expected  to 
be.  The  indebtedness  of  American  cities  is  for  the 
most  part  for  streets,  sewers,  parks,  and  public 
buildings  that  yield  no  revenue  but  are  a  burden  to 
the  taxpayer. 


336  THE  MODERN  CITY 

European  Systems  of  Taxation. 

European  cities  collect  their  revenues  by  a  wholly 
different  system  from  that  which  prevails  in  America. 
They  are  collected  from  tenants,  business,  and 
consumption  rather  than  from  property.  The  Euro- 
pean system  is  a  survival  of  methods  which  have 
continued  from  feudal  times.  They  have  persisted 
partly  by  inertia,  more  largely  through  the  control 
of  the  government  by  the  same  classes  which  con- 
trolled it  prior  to  the  French  Revolution.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  a  small  group  of  great  estate 
owners  owned  all  the  land.  They  also  were  the 
government,  and  these  feudal  proprietors  shifted  the 
burden  of  local  government  onto  the  tenants  by 
providing  that  in  addition  to  the  rents  paid  by  them 
to  the  landowner  they  should  also  pay  the  taxes 
for  the  administration  of  the  towns. 

In  France,  Spain,  Italy,  and  the  Latin  countries 
tin*  octroi  or  tariff  system  prevails,  by  which  a 
large  part  of  the  revenues  of  the  town  come  from  a 
customs  tax  collected  on  the  food  and  produce 
\vhirh  niters  the  city.  Each  town  is  surrounded 
a  tariff  wall  just  as  is  the  nation.  Thus  the  bulk 
of  the  local  revenues  come  from  the  tenants  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  consumers  on  the  other.  Property 
as  such  pays  only  a  small  part  of  the  local  taxes. 
These  systems,  with  some  modifications,  still  remain 
the  methods  by  which  the  local  revenues  of  European 
cities  are  collected. 
The  British  System. 

Tho  taxes  of  the  English  city  are  known  as  rates 
and  are  assessed  upon  the  rental  value  of  the  prop- 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  337 

erty.  They  are  not  paid  by  the  owner  of  the  prop- 
erty, but  by  the  tenant,  who  pays  rent  to  the  land- 
lord and  rates  or  taxes  to  the  city.  Land  as  such 
has  not  been  valued  for  purposes  of  taxation  since 
1692.  Great  cities  have  come  into  existence,  but 
the  land  is  still  assessed  as  farming  land.  Four 
fifths  of  Great  Britain's  population  is  urban,  but  up 
to  the  Lloyd  George  budget  of  1909  the  landlords 
in  Parliament  had  prevented  the  revaluation  of 
their  property  for  purposes  of  taxation. 

If  property  is  vacant  it  pays  no  taxes  at  all.  If 
it  is  rented  for  market-gardening  in  the  heart  of  the 
city  its  ratable  value  is  the  rental  received  by  the 
landlord  as  a  market-garden.  Suburban  land,  which 
may  be  worth  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  an  acre, 
either  pays  no  taxes  or  is  assessed  as  a  pleasure  or 
hunting  preserve.  Land  inadequately  improved  by 
small  houses  or  shacks  is  assessed  at  the  rental  value 
of  these  shacks.  Under  this  system  of  taxation  there 
is  a  premium  upon  holding  land  out  of  use,  of  keep- 
ing it  idle  until  the  necessities  of  increasing  pop- 
ulation finally  force  it  on  the  market  at  the  maxi- 
mum price  which  the  landowner  is  able  to  demand. 
This  is  the  effect  of  the  English  rating  system.  It 
encourages  speculation.  It  explains  the  fearful  over- 
crowding in  the  English  city,  which  is  probably  the 
worst  in  the  world. 

The  system  of  local  taxation  makes  possible  the 
continuance  of  idle-land  holdings  which  prevails  all 
over  Great  Britain.  For  the  land  pays  little  or  no 
tax.  One  fourth  of  the  total  acreage  of  the  country 
is  owned  by  1,200  persons.  Twelve  landlords  own 


33S  THE  MODERN  CITY 

4,500,000  acres  between  them.  A  large  part  of  the 
land  underlying  London  is  owned  by  eight  great 
estates,  which  lease  the  land  on  short  terms  for 
building  purposes.  One  man  owns  most  of  the  land 
underlying  Hudderafield,  with  a  population  of  95,000. 
The  Duke  of  Norfolk  is  the  ground  landlord  of 
Sheffield,  while  Lord  Derby  is  one  of  the  chief  land- 
lords of  Liverpool  These  owners  are  being  daily 
enriched  by  the  overcrowding  of  the  cities  on  land 
which  is  held  out  of  use  because  of  its  exemption 
from  taxation. 

In  addition  to  the  rates  levied  on  tenants,  cities 
receive  annual  grants  out  of  the  imperial  treasury 
as  well  as  very  substantial  sums  from  the  street- 
railway,  gas,  electric-lighting,  and  other  municipal 
services  operated  by  the  council.  But  the  bulk  of 
the  local  revenue  comes  from  rates  which  are  very 
oppressive.  For  this  is  the  only  form  of  tuxes  in 
Great  Britain. 
The  German  System. 

The  revenues  of  the  German  city  come  from  the 
income  tax,  which  is  the  most  important  source,  a 
tax  on  business,  on  real  estate,  on  the  transfer  of 
land,  on  dogs,  from  amusements,  as  well  as  from  A 
tax  upon  the  unearned  increment  of  land  values. 

Nearly  one  half  of  the  municipal  icrcnucs  are 
collected  through  the  income  tax,  which  is  assessed 
as  a  certain  percentage  of  the  state  tax.  It  is  usu- 
ally calculated  at  100,  140,  or  200  per  cent  of  the 
rate  levied  for  state  purposes.  Thus,  if  the  state 
rate  on  a  large  income  is  4  per  cent,  the  municipal 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  339 

rate  will  run  from  4  to  8  per  cent.  more.  Some- 
times, in  those  cities  that  have  very  few  rich  peo- 
ple, the  municipal  rate  runs  as  high  as  15  per  cent., 
making  the  total  rate  on  large  incomes  19  per  cent, 
for  state  and  local  purposes.  The  tax  is  progressive 
according  to  the  size  of  the  income,  with  an  exemp- 
tion allowed  of  about  $200. 

Cities  endeavor  to  keep  the  income-tax  rate  as 
low  as  possible  because  of  the  effect  of  a  low  rate 
in  attracting  population  and  business.  It  is  one 
of  the  determining  elements  of  city  growth.  Mu- 
nicipal ownership  is  promoted  in  Germany  for  the 
purpose  of  relieving  the  tax  rate,  just  as  it  was 
stimulated  in  Great  Britain  by  the  burdens  of  local 
taxation. 

Business  and  Other  Taxes. 

Another  tax  is  levied  on  business.  An  exemp- 
tion is  allowed  small  concerns  whose  earnings  do  not 
exceed  a  few  hundred  dollars  a  year.  The  business 
tax  yields  about  a  fourth  as  much  as  does  the  income 
tax.  It  ranges  from  \y2  to  2  per  cent,  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  business.  A  special  tax  is  levied  on 
department  stores  and  large  businesses. 

Transfers  of  real  estate  are  taxed  by  a  duty  of 
2  per  cent,  levied  upon  the  sales  price,  while  a  sep- 
arate tax  is  levied  on  land  whether  built  upon  or 
not.  In  the  case  of  working-men's  dwellings,  built 
by  the  co-operative  organizations  which  exist  in  al- 
most every  city,  the  rate  is  often  but  one  half  what 
it  is  on  other  real  property.  The  purpose  of  this  is 
to  encourage  the  building  of  working-men's  homes. 


340  THE  MODERN  CITY 

A  substantial  n  venue  is  obtained  from  license 
taxes  imposed  upon  restaurants  and  places  where 
liquor  is  sold,  although  the  rate  on  the  individual 
restaurant  is  very  low.  This  tax  varies  according 
to  the  amount  of  business  done.  Itinerant  mer- 
chants are  also  taxed  a  small  sum.  Dogs  are  taxed, 
the  license  amounting  to  four  dollars  for  each  dog, 
with  an  additional  two  dollars  added  for  each  addi- 
tional dog.  Theatrical  performances,  concerts,  horse- 
races, and  exhibitions  are  taxed,  the  tax  amounting 
often  to  10  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  ticket 
Lastly,  the  German  city,  beginning  with  the  ex- 
periment of  Frankfort  in  1904,  levies  a  tax  upon 
the  speculative  profits  derived  from  the  increase 
in  land  values.  This  tax  is  discussed  more  fully 
elsewhere.1 

These  are  the  principal  sources  of  taxation  in  the 
German  city.  Almost  without  exception  the  rate 
of  the  tax  increases  with  the  ability  of  the  person  to 
pay.  The  income,  business,  and  unearned-mere- 
ment  taxes  are  all  strongly  progressive  and  bear 
most  heavily  on  the  well-to-do. 

German  cities  also  derive  some  revenue  from  their 
business  undertakings,  which  include  not  only  those 
which  use  the  streets,  but  docks,  harbors,  restau- 
rants, pawn-shops,  slaughter-houses,  banks,  opera- 
houses,  theatres,  and  places  of  amusement.  Then 
activities  are,  however,  operated  primarily  for  * 
ice  rather  than  for  revenue,  although  a  substantial 
return  is  often  derived  from  them. 

•  See  ohftptan  on  M  New  8ourt»  of 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  341 

American,  English,  and  German  Taxation  Systems  Com- 
pared. 

The  justice  and  propriety  of  any  system  of  tax- 
ation depends  primarily  upon  its  incidence,  i.  e.,  on 
whose  shoulders  the  burden  ultimately  falls.  This 
and  the  social  influences  set  in  motion  by  it  should 
be  the  determining  motives  in  the  selection  of 
objects.  The  German  system  is  far  more  equitable 
than  the  rating  system  in  England  or  the  octroi 
and  tenant  taxes  of  the  Latin  countries.  Not  only 
does  the  income  tax  remain  where  it  is  originally 
assessed,  but  it  is  placed  upon  those  best  able  to 
bear  it.  Many  of  the  German  taxes,  including  the 
income  tax,  are  progressive. 

Despite  the  effort  of  the  German  city  to  distribute 
the  burdens  as  widely  as  possible  and  to  adjust  them 
to  ability  to  pay,  the  American  system  is  far  more 
just  than  that  of  Germany  or  any  of  the  other  coun- 
tries of  Europe.  In  many  of  our  cities  a  large  part, 
usually  considerably  over  one  half,  of  the  revenues 
are  collected  from  real  estate.  They  are  in  large 
part  collected  from  land  and  are  finally  paid  by  the 
owner,  for  economists  are  agreed  that  the  land  tax 
cannot  be  shifted.  It  is  paid  by  the  landlord.  And 
in  so  far  as  our  taxes  are  levied  on  land  they  are  far 
more  just  than  those  levied  on  incomes  or  business, 
and  infinitely  more  just  than  those  levied  on  the 
tenant  as  in  England  or  on  the  consumer  under  the 
octroi  in  Latin  countries.  The  land  tax  is  an  in- 
stalment of  the  single  tax.  Through  it  the  com- 
munity takes  a  portion  of  the  ground  rent  which  it 
itself  creates.  In  this  sense  it  is  not  a  tax  at  all  but 


342  THE  MODERN  CITY 

merely  the  retention  by  the  city  of  its  own  currently 

created  wealth. 

English  System  Least  Defensible. 

Next  to  the  octroi  taxes,  the  rating  system  in 
England  is  the  most  unjust  of  any.  Under  it 
land  bears  practically  no  local  taxes.  No  matter 
how  valuable  land  may  be,  if  it  is  unimproved  or 
not  in  use  or  is  not  rented  it  escapes  taxation.  The 
whole  burden  is  thrown  upon  the  tenant,  the  house- 
holder, the  business  man,  and  the  manufacturer. 
The  landlord  goes  free.  He  enjoys  the  increasing 
value  of  his  land  unburdened  by  any  taxes  and  is 
free  to  permit  it  to  lie  idle  as  long  as  he  wills.  One 
of  the  chief  causes,  probably  the  most  important  of 
all  causes,  of  the  poverty  and  indescribably  bad 
housing  conditions  of  the  British  city  is  the  taxation 
system  which  throws  the  burden  of  the  rates  on  the 
tenant,  and  permits  the  landlord  to  tax  him  still 
further  by  withholding  land  from  use  and  thus 

r  case  the  congestion  and  rents  of  the  land  already 
in  use.  British  reformers  generally  recognise  that 
little  relief  can  be  secured  for  the  cities,  and  1 
improvement  in  housing  conditions,  until  the  cities 
are  able  to  control  the  land  and  through  it  improve 
housing  conditions.  And  many  reformers  insist 
that  this  can  only  be  done  through  the  taxation  of 
land  values  and  the  forcing  of  idle  land  into  use. 

The  following  table  indicates  the  proportion  of 
municipal  revenue  derived  from  real  estate  in  New 
York,  Chicago,  and  the  larger  cities  of  Europe.1 


1  Mtftri  <j  (to  Ctmmime*  on  tf«w  SOTCM  <j  City  friiiim,  N«w 

York.  1013 


THE  CITY  BUDGET 


343 


CITIES 

TOTAL 
REVENUE 

REAL-ESTATE 
TAX 

PER 
CENT. 

New  York  (1908)  .  .  . 

$143,572,266 

$109,452,268 

76.2 

Chicago  (1908)  

41,546,465 

17,613,439 

42.4 

London1  (1910-1911)... 
Berlin  (1910) 

133,750,000 
68,535,674 

80,260,000 
6,000,000 

60 

8.7 

Vienna  (1910)  

41,946,223 

13,723 

.03 

Paris  (1910)  

76,295,270 

204,900 

.3 

The  Political  Effects  of  Taxation. 

In  one  respect  the  English  and  German  systems 
are  preferable  to  our  own.  In  this  country,  as  has 
been  shown  in  an  earlier  chapter,2  urban  tenancy 
is  the  rule.  As  a  consequence,  taxes,  levied  as  they 
are  upon  the  owner,  are  not  felt  by  the  average  voter. 
There  is  thus  no  economic  nexus  between  him  and 
the  government.  He  can  afford  to  be  indifferent 
to  politics.  The  German  income  tax  and  the 
British  tax  on  tenants  are  felt  by  all  classes  and  are 
a  powerful  influence  for  good  government.  Voters 
think  about  the  taxes  they  pay  and  in  consequence 
are  careful  in  the  choice  of  councilmen.  They  are 
intolerant  of  any  irregularity  or  anything  which 
suggests  waste  or  inefficiency.  This  is  particularly 
true  in  England,  where  the  burden  of  the  rates  is 
already  so  heavy  that  even  a  small  addition  to  the 
taxes  is  immediately  felt  by  every  tenant  or  house- 
holder. 

While  the  American  city  suffers  from  this  spur  to 

1  The  real-estate  tax  in  London  is  not  a  real-estate  tax,  but  an 
occupiers'  or  tenants'  tax.  For  this  reason  the  comparison  is  mis- 
leading. Land  as  such  pays  but  a  small  tax. 

*  See  chapter  IV. 


344  THE  MODERN  CITY 

interest  on  the  part  of  the  voter,  there  are  gains 
\vhich  compensate  for  the  loss.  Our  cities  are  more 
generous  in  their  expenditure  than  those  of  England. 
They  are  ready  to  undertake  improvements  and  as- 
sume new  activities.  It  would  have  been  difficult, 
almost  impossible,  to  have  developed  our  school, 
park,  playground,  and  other  activities  on  the  gei 
oils  scale  they  have  assumed  had  the  burden  of 
their  support  been  thrown  directly  upon  the  voter 
through  the  income,  consumption,  or  tenant  taxes 
which  prevail  in  foreign  cities. 


The  revenues  of  the  American  city  are  collected 
axation  on  real  and  personal  property  and  from 
license  fees,  while  revenues  for  permanent  improve-    i 
1  .s  are  raised  by  the  sale  of  bonds. 

( ireat  improvement  has  been  made  in  the  budget-   J 
ary  arrangements  of  American  cities  in  recent  years.  I 
Up  to  very  recently  there  was  no  unity  in  the  meth- 
ods  employ^!  and  in  many  cities  there  were  prac- 
tically no  intelligible  municipal  accounting  systems, 
improvements  made  in  this  respect  are  largely 
ilm.imh  the  activities  of  voluntary  bureaus  of  u 
nicipal  research  as  well  as  by  public  agencies  of  a 
similar  sort  established  in  many  cities. 

One  of  the  chief  limitations  on  the  American  ci 
isin  the  financial  field.  It  has  no  liU-rty  in  the  matter 
of  taxation  and  little  latitude  in  the  amount  of  the 
indebtedness  which  it  can  incur.  This  has  seriously 
limited  the  city  in  its  activities;  it  has  prevented  the 
public  ownership  of  public  service  corporations,  the 
carrying  out  of  big  programmes  for  docks,  harbors, 
and  water-supplies,  and  has  in  many  ways  limited 
the  planning  of  the  city  to  its  temporary  needs. 


THE  CITY  BUDGET  345 

European  municipal  taxes  are  levied  on  an  en- 
tirely different  basis  from  those  of  America.  They 
are  collected  from  tenants  and  consumers  in  England 
and  the  Latin  countries  and  from  incomes  and  busi- 
ness in  Germany. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE 

THE  most  obvious  fact  of  the  preceding  chapter! 
is  the  persistent  growth  of  municipal  activities. 
Irrespective  of  our  desires,  the  city  is  being  social- 
ized at  a  rapid  rate.  Election  promises  of  economy 
as  well  as  the  disinclination  of  officials  and  tax- 
payers to  pay  more  taxes  are  powerless  before  the 
necessities  which  confront  every  growing  city.  This 
is  true  all  over  the  world,  and  those  cities  which  have 
frankly  acknowledged  the  necessity  and  made  pro- 
vision for  it  have  become  the  most  attractive,  the 
most  comfortable,  and  even  from  a  commercial 
point  of  view  the  most  prosperous.  For  business 
is  attracted  to  the  city  by  efficiency,  and  efficiency 
in  municipal  administration  means  ifttrtaliiatiflfi 
co-operation,  the  protection  of  the  dtiseo  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  increase  in  the  services  rendered 
him  on  the  other. 

We  accept  many  things  as  necessities  to-day 
which  a  few  years  ago  had  not  even  been  suggested. 
There  are  more  exacting  standards  of  education, 
of  health  and  sanitation;  distant  sources  of  water- 
supply  have  to  be  found,  filtration  plants  must  be 

inst:illr«l,    \vhilr   pn>YM«»n    h;i.-    t<>   U-    m:i«l'-   f..r   tin* 

disposal  of  refuse  and  garbage.    New  means  of 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       347 

transit  have  to  be  provided  by  subways  or  elevated 
systems  to  relieve  congestion  and  permit  the  proper 
expansion  of  the  city.  There  are  increasing  demands 
for  better  fire  and  police  protection,  for  fire-pre- 
vention bureaus  and  high-pressure  systems.  The 
water-fronts  must  be  reclaimed,  municipal  docks 
and  harbors  must  be  constructed  to  develop  the 
city's  commerce,  while  new  streets  must  frequently 
be  opened  to  relieve  the  business  congestion.  All 
these  activities  are  demanded  by  business  men  and 
taxpayers  for  the  promotion  of  the  city. 

Growth  of  City  Expenditure. 

Expenditures  are  also  increasing  for  recreation, 
for  more  humane  consideration  of  the  dependent 
and  delinquent  classes  and  more  generous  pro- 
vision for  hospitals,  institutions,  and  poor  relief. 
Civic  pride  is  finding  a  place  in  the  budget  in  town- 
planning  projects,  the  erection  of  imposing  munic- 
ipal buildings,  the  laying  out  of  boulevards  and  park 
systems,  while  concern  for  the  economic  well-being 
of  the  poorer  classes  is  demanding  the  erection  of 
markets,  the  inspection  of  food,  the  supply  of  milk, 
and  provision  for  nurses  and  community  doctors. 
Ay  these  and  many  other  functions  are  adding  new 
burdens  to  the  city.  They  are  increasing  the  city 
budget  more  rapidly  than  the  growth  of  population. 
And,  measured  by  continental  cities,  the  movement 
has  only  begun. 

The  budgets  of  our  cities  are  responding  to  these 
demands.  New  York  is  a  conspicuous  example,  in 
which  city  from  1903  to  1913  the  valuation  of  all 


348  THE  MODERN  CITY 

personal  and  real  property  increased  by  49.23  per 
cent,  and  the  population  but  42  per  cent.,  while 
the  lc\y  upon  property  increased  90.01  per  cent. 
The  receipts  from  direct  taxes  in  1903  amounted  to 
$69,584,432,  while  in  1913  they  were  $128,412,956. 

According  to  the  bureau  of  the  census,  the  budget 
of  147  cities  shows  that  "  receipts  from  revenues 
increased  from  $420,177,674  in  1902  to  $663,8 
409  in  1909,  or  58  per  cent.,  while  payments  for 
expenses  and  interest  increased  in  the  same  period 
51.2  per  cent.;  and  except  for  a  decrease  from  1908 
to  1909,  payments  for  outlays  during  the  same 
period  increased  steadily  from  year  to  year,  K 
payments  being  for  th<    1 17  <  ities  99.8  per  cent, 
greater  in  1909  than  in  190: 

This  increase  in  expenditure  is  only  to  a  small 
extent  due  to  waste,  extravagance,  or  inefficiei 
Tli'-  increase  is  probably  more  rapid  in  the  cities 
that  are  well  governed  than  in  those  that  are  i 
it  is  quite  as  rapid  in  Europe  as  in  America.    Cities 
are  undertaking  new  activities,  public  opinion  in- 
sists on  a  higher  standard  of  workmanship,  while 
improvements  are  on  a  much  more  permanent  scale 
than  heretofore.    There  is  every  reason  to  expect 
that  expenditures  in  the  future  will  increase  even 
more  rapidly  than  in  the  past. 
New  Sources  of  Revenue. 

New  sources  of  revenue  are  being  sought  to  meek 
the  increasing  needs  of  the  city,  and  three  general 
expedients  are  being  urged  or  adopted.  They  are: 

*  Financial  Statittic*  of  Citit*  (1900),  p.  30. 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       349 

(1)  Reliance  on  special  assessments  upon  property 
benefited  for  many  improvements  heretofore  paid 
for  by  direct  taxes  or  general  indebtedness. 

(2)  Excess  condemnation  by  means  of  which  more 
land  is  taken  than  is  needed  for  a  street,  parkway, 
or  other  public  improvement,  and  the  resale  of  the 
unused  land  at  its  increased  value  after  the  im- 
provement has  been  completed. 

(3)  An  increased  tax  on  land  values  or  the  "un- 
earned increment."    All  of  these  expedients  look 
to  increased  revenue  from  real  estate,  and  especially 
from  land. 

(1)  Special  A ssessments.— Special  assessments  have 
long  been  relied  on  to  pay  for  streets,  sidewalks,  and 
sewers.  Assessments  for  paving  and  sidewalks  are 
usually  confined  to  the  property  immediately  abut- 
ting on  the  street  and  are  levied  according  to  street 
frontage  or  the  value  of  the  property.  Sewers  are 
divided  into  classes.  The  cost  of  the  street  sewer  is 
assessed  against  the  property  on  the  street  benefited, 
the  cost  of  the  district  sewer  against  a  wider  area, 
while  the  trunk  sewers  are  charged  against  the  city  as 
a  whole  or  upon  districts  served  by  them.  Notes 
or  bonds  running  from  five  to  ten  years  are  issued 
by  the  city  but  are  charged  against  and  paid  by 
the  property  owners  benefited  in  annual  instalments. 
By  this  procedure  property  increased  in  value  is 
made  to  pay  for  its  immediate  benefits.  In  New 
York  small  parks,  street  openings,  and  other  im- 
provements are  being  paid  for  in  part  by  this  plan. 

Mr.  Nelson  P.  Lewis,  the  chief  engineer  of  the 


350  THE  MODERN  CITY 

board  of  estimate  and  apportionment  of  New  York, 
says  of  special  assessments: 

"One  principle  should  be  invariably  recognized; 
narn<  ly.  where  there  is  local  benefit  there  should  be 
local  assessment.    There  can  be  no  improver 
which  has  been  intelligently  planned  and  executed 
which  will  not  result  in  some  local  benefit,  and  it 
follows  that  there  should  always  be  some  local 
assessment.    No  improvement,  however  small  or 
however  large,  will  be  of  equal  benefit  to  the  ei 
,  and  to  distribute  the  burden  of  paying  for  it 
the  whole  city  according  to  taxable  values  is 
unfair  in  that  it  is  not  placed  according  to  benefit. 
The  owners  of  property  in  the  immediate  vie: 
are  frequently  enriched  at  the  expense  of  those 
whose  holdings  are  entirely  outside  the    dist 
directly  affected.  . 

needs  no  extended  argument  to  prove  the 
equity  and  wisdom  of  local  ajtmssment  wherever 
tli-  re  is  local  benefit.    That  it  has  been  done  to  .- 
a  limited  extent  in  the  past  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  more  generally  done  in  the  futiirv. 
That  certain  property  owners  have  heretofore  been 
treated  with  such  prodigal  liberality  is  no  good  rea- 
son why  others  should  fatten  through  a  cont 
ation  of  an  irrational  and  essentially  unfair  polk } 


Proposed  Extension  of  Special 

It  is  urged  that  the  principle  of  special 
should  be  extended  to  many  other  improvements 
such  as  boulevards,  parks,  playgrounds,  the  open- 
ing of  new  streets,  the  acquisition  of  land  for  pub- 


A0  Mb  jtr  0*  Ptomfaf.    Fourth  NiUood 
»  on  City  Planning.    Barton,  1012. 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       351 

lie  buildings  and  civic  centres.  Land  is  increased 
in  value  by  these  improvements  as  well  as  by  water, 
gas,  electric-light,  and  transportation  facilities;  it 
is  usually  increased  in  value  far  beyond  the  cost 
of  the  improvements.  In  1908  the  City  Club  of 
New  York  made  a  study  of  the  effect  of  the  first 
subways  upon  city  land  values  and  found  that  the 
new  means  of  transit  had  increased  the  value  of  the 
land  opened  up  to  use  far  in  excess  of  the  subway 
cost  but  that  this  cost  had  been  borne  by  general 
bonds  issued  by  the  city.  The  club  addressed  a 
memorandum  to  the  board  of  estimate  and  appor- 
tionment on  "The  Building  of  Rapid  Transit  Lines 
by  Assessment  upon  Property  Benefited."  The  re- 
port said: 

"For  many  years  the  city  has  deemed  it  just  to 
assess  upon  abutting  property  the  cost  of  opening 
streets  and  building  sewers.  The  theory  of  such  a 
tax  upon  property  is  that  it  receives  almost  the 
exclusive  benefit  from  the  construction  of  a  street  or 
sewer  adjacent  to  it.  The  question  naturally  arises, 
does  not  a  transit  line,  by  the  benefit  that  it  confers, 
fall  in  the  same  class  as  new  streets  and  sewers? 
If  a  street  railroad  or  rapid  transit  line  be  extended 
into  an  undeveloped  territory,  is  it  not  built  pri- 
marily for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  transit  facil- 
ities to  future  residents  in  that  section  ?  People  will 
buy  this  property  primarily  because  it  has  good 
transit  facilities  and  the  value  placed  upon  it  is 
largely  based  upon  its  accessibility.  This  being 
true  and  universally  admitted,  why  should  not  the 
property  thus  enhanced  in  value  by  the  extension 
to  it  of  a  transit  line  pay  for  the  construction  of  such 


352  THE  MODERN  CITY 

line,  to  the  extent  that  the  increased  value  warrants 
it,  instead  of  receiving  such  increased  value  as  a 
present  from  the  city.  ...    To  throw  light  upon 
the  above  question,  the  City  Club  has  been  making 
some    painstaking    investigations,    extending    c 
several  months,  of  the  rise  in  value  of  land  along 
the  present  subway.  .  .  .    Between  135th  Stn 
155th  Street,  Convent  Avenue  and  North   I; 
the  land  increased  in  value  between  1900  and  1907 
about   $17,825,000.    Although   the  elevated   road 
paralleled  this  district,  yet  owing  to  the  topography 
the  road  was  of  little  service,  so  the  subway  added 
very  materially  to  the  transit  facilities  of  the  local 

"The  district  between    the   Harlem  and  N 
I  livers  from  155th  to  178th  Street  increased  in  value 
about  $22,450,000;  from  178th  to  Dyckman  Street 
th<   increase  was  about  $15,925,000;  from  Dyckman 
et  to  the  Spuyten   Duyvil  the  increase  was 
about  $13,100,000.    The  aggregate  rise  in  this  land 
from  135th  Street  to  Spuyten  Duyvil  was  about 
$69,300,000.    If  an  estimated  normal  rise  of  $20,- 
100,000,  based  upon  th<    rise  of  the  previous  sr 
years,  be  subtracted  from  this,  it  leaves  a  rift 
about  $49,200,000,  apparently  due  to  the  building 
of  the  subway,  which  is  104  per  cent,  increase  on  the 
value  of  1900. 

"The  rise  in  land  values  of  The  Bronx  is  likewise 
very  noticeable.  Taking  a  district  along  the  sub- 
way extending  in  width  about  a  half  mile  on  either 
side,  the  increase  in  land  values  was  somewhat  as 
follows:  From  the  Harlem  River  to  Willis  and 
Third  Avenues  the  rise  was  about  $9,200,000;  from 
the  latter  point  to  Bronx  Park,  about  $13,500,000. 
The  aggregate  rise  in  land  values  for  this  dist 
from  the  Harlem  River  to  the  Bronx  Park  was 
about  $44,800,000.  Subtracting  from  this  an  aggre- 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       353 

gate  normal  rise  of  $13,500,000,  it  leaves  an  increase 
of  $31,300,000,  due  to  the  building  of  the  subway. 

"Since  this  property  has  been  so  enhanced  in  value 
by  the  building  of  the  subway  by  the  city,  could  it 
not  have  contributed  largely  toward  the  expense 
of  constructing  the  line  and  yet  have  reaped  a  good 
increase  in  addition  to  such  assessment?  ...  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  aggregate  rise  in  land  value 
in  Manhattan  from  135th  Street  to  the  Spuyten 
Duyvil,  and  in  The  Bronx,  due  to  the  building  of  the 
subway,  was  $80,500,000.  The  cost  of  the  entire 
subway  from  the  Battery  to  the  Spuyten  Duyvil 
and  the  West  Farms  branch  to  Bronx  Park  was  but 
$43,000,000.  The  property  benefited,  in  the  dis- 
tricts above  noted,  could  have  paid  this  entire  cost, 
and  yet  have  had  a  net  profit,  due  solely  to  its  con- 
struction and  operation,  of  over  $37,500,000.  Had 
it  paid  only  for  the  portion  running  through  its  own 
territory,  there  would  have  remained  a  profit  of 
over  $67,425,000.  In  view  of  this  fact,  would  it 
not  be  reasonable  to  require  property  benefited  in 
outlying  districts  to  pay  for  the  cost  of  a  rapid  tran- 
sit line  built  to  serve  it?" 

Assessments  for  Parks  and  Boulevards. 

Parks  and  boulevards  increase  the  value  of  adja- 
cent land  in  the  same  way.  Mr.  John  Nolan,  in  a 
report  on  the  park  and  playground  system  of  the 
city  of  New  London,  Conn.,  shows  that  in  Madison, 
Wis.,  the  new  parks  not  only  meet  all  their  charges 
but,  by  reason  of  the  increased  value  of  adjoining 
property,  pay  into  the  city  treasury  at  least  $10,000 
a  year  in  increased  taxes.  The  value  of  the  "Fens" 
part  of  the  park  system  of  Boston  was  about  $4,300 
an  acre  before  the  parks  were  laid  out.  The  build- 


354  THE   MODERN  CITY 

ing  of  the  parks  increased  the  value  of  the  adjoin- 
ing property  until  it  is  now  worth  on  an  average 
$86,000  an  acre.  The  report  of  the  New  York  park 
commission  (1892)  says: 

"The  amount  collected  (in  taxes)  in  twenty-five 
years  on  the  property  of  the  three  wards  (contiguous 
to  Central  Park),  over  and  above  the  ordinary  in- 
crease in  the  taxable  value  of  the  real  estate  in  the 
rest  of  the  city,  was  $65,000,000  or  about  $21,000,000 
more  than  the  aggregate  expense  attending  and 
following  the  establishment  of  the  park  up  to  the 
present  year.  Regarding  the  whole  transaction  in 
the  light  of  a  real  estate  speculation  alone,  the  < 
has  $21,000,000  in  cash  over  and  above  the  outlay, 
and  has  acquired  in  addition  thereto  land  valued 
at  $20,000,000." 


City  Example. 
Some  Western  cities  are  paying  for  parks  and 
boulevards  just  as  Eastern  cities  pay  for  streets  and 
sewers.  Kansas  City  has  acquired  its  entire  park 
system  by  this  method.  In  the  early  '90s  the  < 
undertook  to  develop  a  park  system,  but  the  courts 
decided  that  bonds  could  not  be  issued  for  the  pur- 
pose, so  that  the  improvement  would  have  been 
out  of  the  question  had  not  the  principle  of  special 
assessment  been  adopted.  Five  districts  were  es- 
tablished for  development.  The  needed  land  waa 
acquired;  the  boulevards  were  laid  out,  and  to-day 
I)M'  city  has  a  great  park  system  and  forty  miles  of 
parkways,  at  a  cost  of  over  $10,000,000,  without 
adding  anything  to  the  general  indebtedness  or 
taxes  of  the  cit 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       355 

In  the  case  of  Benton  Boulevard,  the  value  of  the 
land  before  the  improvement  was  from  $15  to  $20 
a  front  foot,  while  after  the  boulevard  was  com- 
pleted its  value  was  from  $45  to  $60  a  front  foot. 
The  assessed  cost  of  the  boulevard  was  $8.53  per 
front  foot,  which  left  an  average  advance  to  the 
owner  of  $26.50  per  front  foot.  The  value  per 
front  foot  of  Linwood  Boulevard  before  the  im- 
provement was  $50,  while  the  value  after  the  boule- 
vard was  completed  was  from  $80  to  $100  per  front 
foot.  The  boulevard  cost,  assessed  against  the 
property  improved,  was  $7.99  a  front  foot,  leaving 
to  the  owner  an  increased  value  of  $32. 

(2)  Excess  Condemnation. — By  excess  condemna- 
tion is  meant  the  purchase  of  more  land  than  is 
needed  for  a  particular  improvement  and  the  resale 
of  the  surplus  after  the  improvement  has  been  com- 
pleted at  the  increased  value  which  the  improvement 
itself  created.  This  idea  is  comparatively  new  in 
America  but  is  being  provided  for  by  laws  and  con- 
stitutional amendments. 

The  most  notable  example  in  Europe  of  what  is 
the  equivalent  of  excess  condemnation  is  that  of 
the  celebrated  Ringstrasse  in  Vienna,  probably  the 
most  magnificent  street  in  the  world.  It  is  laid 
out  upon  the  site  of  the  old  fortifications  around  the 
inner  town,  which  were  demolished  to  make  room 
for  the  city's  growth.  A  part  of  this  area  was  con- 
verted into  the  Ringstrasse,  a  part  was  set  aside  for 
parks,  gardens,  and  public  buildings,  and  a  third  part 
was  divided  into  lots  and  sold  to  private  builders. 


356  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  cost  of  this  project,  which  has  made  Vienna 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  the  world,  was 
largely  repaid  through  the  sale  of  that  portion  of 
land  which  remained  unused  for  public  purposes. 
This,  amounting  to  one  fifth  of  the  whole,  was  laid 
out  for  private  sale.  Restrictions  were  imposed  on  the 
kind  of  buildings  that  could  be  erected  and  the  style 
of  architecture  to  be  followed.  The  total  sum  real- 
ized from  the  sale  of  the  excess  land  was  $80,000,000. 
European  Euunptos* 

The  London  county  council  applied  the  same 
procedure  in  the  opening  of  thoroughfares  through 
old  parts  of  the  city.  The  region  between  High 
Holborn  and  the  Strand  was  terribly  congested;  it 
was  filled  with  unsanitary  slums  and  tenements. 
There  was  great  need  of  an  arterial  highway  be- 
tween the  north  of  London  and  the  Victoria  Embank- 
ment. To  meet  the  need  the  Kingsway,  a  strer 

splendid  propnrtiMUv.  wa>  cut  llir..iiL'li.  It  1«  ft  many 
irregular  pieces  of  lots  unsuited  for  building.  Some 
were  small  triangles,  others  were  long  slices.  They 
were  of  little  value  to  the  owners.  To  meet  this 
situation  the  public  authorities  acquired  not  < 
the  land  necessary  for  the  street  but  a  considerable 
strip  on  each  side  of  the  street  as  well.  This  made 
it  possible  to  rearrange  the  small  pieces  of  prop 
into  suitable  building  lots  and  to  resell  them  after 
the  street  was  completed.  The  new  avenue  made 
the  abutting  building  lots  very  valuable,  and  they 
were  subsequently  leased  or  sold  at  a  greatly  in- 
creased price,  with  the  result  that  the  improvement 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       357 

is  paying  for  itself  out  of  the  value  which  the  im- 
provement has  created. 

Under  the  administration  of  Joseph  Chamberlain 
the  city  of  Birmingham,  England,  undertook  the 
clearance  of  a  blighted  slum  area  at  great  expense. 
It  razed  a  big  tenement  district  and  opened  up  new 
business  streets,  of  which  Corporation  Street  is  the 
most  commanding.  Then  it  laid  out  the  remaining 
land  in  building  sites,  which  were  leased  but  not 
sold  to  private  individuals.  The  leases  contained 
provisions  for  the  reappraisal  of  rental  values  at 
stated  intervals.  Under  this  arrangement  the  city 
has  already  made  a  large  return  upon  the  cost  of 
the  improvement,  and  within  a  short  time  the  debt 
will  have  been  paid  off  by  the  sinking-fund  accu- 
mulations, leaving  the  city  free  of  debt  on  the 
undertaking  and  in  possession  of  a  very  valuable 
area  of  land  in  its  centre. 

German  cities  follow  the  same  procedure.  They 
purchase  more  land  than  is  needed  for  an  improve- 
ment and  hold  it  for  a  rise  in  price.  Frankfort-on- 
the-Main  purchased  1,180  acres  of  land  for  a  har- 
bor and  industrial  development  which  it  laid  off 
as  a  new  factory  and  industrial  centre.  The  land 
was  bought  at  agricultural  prices,  and  when  the 
territory  was  ready  for  development  sites  were 
leased  or  sold  at  a  price  which  is  expected  to  repay 
the  city  for  a  large  part  of  the  investment. 
Excess  Condemnation  in  America. 

The  right  of  excess  condemnation  does  not  gen- 
erally exist  in  the  United  States.  Ohio  has  en- 


358  THE  MODERN  CITY 

dowed  its  cities  with  this  right  in  city  projects, 
and  Cleveland  has  acquired  considerable  land  in 
connection  with  boulevard  improvements,  to  be 
developed  and  later  resold  for  building  purposes. 
The  city  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  enjoys  similar  pow- 
ers. Wisconsin  cities  may  acquire  land  for  aUeeis, 
parks,  playgrounds,  and  similar  purposes,  and  after 
the  establishment  and  completion  of  the  improve. 
ment  (the  city)  "may  convey  any  such  real  estate 
thus  acquired  and  not  necessary  for  such  improve 
mente,  with  reservations  concerning  future  use  and 
occupation  of  such  real  estate,  so  as  to  protect  such 
public  works  and  improvements  and  their  environs, 
and  to  preserve  the  full  appearance,  light,  air,  and 
usefulness  of  snob  public  works,  and  to  promote 
the  public  health  and  welfare." 

In  1911  Massachusetts  adopted  a  constitutional 
amendment  which  permits  cities  to  use  the  power 
of  excess  fionflfti'miMtfym  and  to  acouire  land  in  coo— 

-_A»  _     ..  ;»i      I..KI;,*    ;„.„_„..„ A  \  -\        *     »i 

necoon  witn  public  improvements,  wniie  smnisr 
powers  have  been  granted  to  Philadelphia  b  con- 
nection with  the  Fainnount  Parkway,  which  is 
being  built  from  city  hall  to  the  entrance  to  the 
park  system.  New  York  recently  adopted  a  con- 
stitutional amendment  permitting  cities  to  use  the 

%«%      »v%ALin*v 

f 


John  Cotton  Dana,  writing  on 
tion  in  The  Newark*  (March,  1913),  says: 


"Excess  condemnation  not  only  enables  the 
to  make  improvements  such  as  opening  new  streets 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       359 

at  practically  no  expense  to  the  taxpayer;  it  also 
insures  the  success  of  the  improvement  by  the 
proper  treatment  of  the  abutting  property.  In- 
stead of  a  medley  of  handsome  residences,  ram- 
shackle tenements  and  unsightly  stores  fronting  a 
beautiful  boulevard,  there  are  buildings  which, 
by  their  correspondence  with  the  whole  scheme, 
ensure  its  natural  development  and  permanence. 
In  other  words,  under  excess  condemnation  the 
improvement  is  treated  as  a  unit,  not  as  an  acci- 
dent. 

"Excess  condemnation  implies,  therefore,  the 
city's  right  to  profit  by  its  own  investments  in 
preference  to  its  exploitation  by  a  few  individuals; 
permanent  benefit  to  the  entire  community  with 
injustice  to  none;  utilization  of  small  and  irregular 
plats  which  otherwise  cannot  be  successfully  treated; 
the  development  of  the  improvement  as  a  unit 
instead  of  as  a  series  of  unrelated  accidents.  Ex- 
cess condemnation  is  the  first  and  essential  step  in 
city  planning,  and  the  sine  qua  non  of  its  success." 

(3)  The  Taxation  of  Land  Values. — Urban  land 
values,  or  the  "unearned  increment,"  are  a  third 
source  of  revenue  to  which  cities  are  turning  all  over 
the  world.  In  Germany  urban  land  is  subject  to  a 
tax  upon  the  profits  which  accrue  to  the  seller  or  the 
rise  in  value  which  takes  place  within  a  specified 
number  of  years.  The  same  procedure  is  provided 
in  Great  Britain  under  the  budget  of  1909.  This 
is  the  method  which  will  probably  be  followed  in 
Europe  because  of  the  fact  that  European  countries 
do  not  assess  land  for  taxation  at  its  capital  or  sell- 
ing value  as  is  done  in  the  United  States. 


MO  THE  MODERN  CITY 

Canadian  Experiments. 

The  idea  of  taxing  land,  and  land  alone,  for  mu- 
;>al  purposes  has  made  the  moot  rapid  progress 
in  western  Canada,  where  many  cities  have  removed 
all  taxes  from  houses  and  improvements.  The 
movement  began  with  Vancouver,  which  city,  in 
1895,  reduced  the  taxes  on  houses  and  improvements 
by  50  per  cent.  In  1906  the  tax  was  again  reduced 
to  25  per  cent.  Finally,  in  1910,  all  taxes  on  boons 
and  improvements  were  removed  and  all  local  taxes 
were  placed  upon  land  values.  The  result  of  the 
change  was  to  discourage  spenilitkm  and  stimulate 
building  operations.  Vancouver  has  grown  with 
great  rapidity,  its  prosperity  being  generally  at- 
trihuted  to  the  exemption  of  capital  and  labor  from 
taxation.  Following  the  example  of  Vancouver, 
other  Canadian  cities  adopted  thf  land  tax.  Among 
them  are  Edmonton,  with  a  population  of  30,000; 
oria,  with  a  population  of  60,000;  Westminster, 
15,000;  Lethbridgo,  15,000;  Prince  Rupert,  8,000, 
and  Nanojino,  6,000. 

A  special  commission  of  the  Minnesota  legU** 
ture  investigated  the  results  of  the  Canadian  ex- 
periment and  reported  in  1912.  Speaking  of  the 
result  of  the  land  tax,  the  commission  said: 


"The  most  striking  feature  in  a  study  of  tax 
reform  in  western  Canada  is  the  strong  trend 
throughout  the  entire  country  in  the  direction  of 
the  single  tax  principle.  That  so  far  it  is 
wherever 


satisfactorily  wherever  tried  is  generally 

even  by  opponents  of  the  principle.    In  no  district 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       361 

in  which  the  principle  has  been  applied  is  there  any 
noticeable  desire  to  return  to  the  old  system.  From 
present  indications  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  within 
the  next  ten  or  twenty  years  the  single  tax  prin- 
ciple will  be  adopted  by  every  taxing  district  in 
western  Canada." 

Reasons  for  the  Taxation  of  Land  Values. 

Land  values  are  social  as  are  the  ground-rents 
which  spring  from  them.  This  is  the  underlying 
reason  for  their  taxation.  They  are  created  by 
the  whole  community  and  would  not  exist  without 
the  community.  As  population  increases  land  val- 
ues increase;  as  population  diminishes  land  values 
diminish.  This  is  particularly  obvious  in  the  city 
where  a  single  building  lot  is  frequently  worth 
millions.  But  the  same  is  true  of  agricultural  land. 
It,  too,  increases  in  value  by  the  growth  of  popula- 
tion. 

It  is  their  social  origin  that  distinguishes  land 
values  from  other  forms  of  wealth.  Land  values 
are  not  the  product  of  the  owner's  effort.  They  have 
little  relation  to  it.  Rather  they  come  from  the 
action  of  the  community  itself.  Improvements  like 
streets  and  sewers  increase  the  value  of  the  land,  as 
does  the  supply  of  water,  gas,  and  electricity.  The 
building  of  street-railways  or  other  forms  of  rapid 
transit,  as  indicated  in  a  previous  paragraph,  usually 
add  more  than  their  cost  to  the  value  of  the  land 
alone.  They  bring  it  into  the  market.  That  is 
the  reason  for  special  assessments  against  the  prop- 
erty benefited. 


362  THE  MODERN  CITY 

The  growth  of  a  city  is  reflected  in  land  values 
as  in  a  mirror.  In  the  average  city  land  values 
usually  amount  to  from  $600  to  $1,000  per  capita, 
or  from  $3,000  to  $5,000  per  family.  Upon  this 
value  ground-rent  is  paid  by  the  tenant.  In  other 
words,  the  tenant  pays  for  the  use  of  wealth  which 
he  himself  has  created. 
Land  Values  in  New  York. 

The  taxable  land  values  of  New  York 
1913  amounted  to  $4,590,892,350,  or  almost  exa 
$1,000  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  < 
In  oth.T  cities,  where  real  estate  is  assessed  at  it* 
full  market  value  and  the  assessments  of  land  and 
improvements  are  separated,  it  is  found  that  the 
land  values  approximate  those  of  New  York.    This 
orafed  m  iftt  A   .:  i  be  taxed  :  r 


purposes,  the  proposal  being  that  all  other  forms  of 
taxation  should  be  repealed  and  the  tax  be  permitted 
to  settle  upon  the  land  alone. 

This  would  mean  that  the  ground  landlord  would 
receive  less  and  the  city  would  receive  more  of  the 
ground-rent  than  at  present  There  would  be  DO 
otherdisturbancetoexistingcoiiditioiis.  Thfcbwhat 
has  already  been  done  in  the  cities  of  western  Canada. 

That  such  a  tax  would  be  more  than  adequate 
for  all  local  needs  fa  evidenced  by  New  York,  where 
the  ground-rent  alone  of  the  city  is  estimated  to  be 
over  $250,000,000  a  year,  or  approximately  $250 
for  every  family.  The  present  budget  of  the  • 
from  all  sources  is  less  than  $200,000,000,  of  which 
nearly  40  per  cent  is  collected  from  land  values. 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       363 

The  justice  of  taxing  land  values  to  meet  the 
growing  needs  of  the  city  is  being  generally  recog- 
nized. In  an  article  in  the  Century  Magazine  for 
October,  1913,  Theodore  Roosevelt  said: 

"We  believe  that  municipalities  should  have  com- 
plete self  government  as  regards  all  the  affairs  that 
are  exclusively  their  own,  including  the  important 
matter  of  taxation,  and  that  the  burden  of  munici- 
pal taxation  should  be  so  shifted  as  to  put  the  weight 
of  land  taxation  upon  the  unearned  rise  in  value 
of  the  land  itself  rather  than  upon  the  improvement 
and  buildings;  the  effort  being  to  prevent  the  undue 
rise  of  rent." 

In  keeping  with  this  idea  bills  have  been  intro- 
duced into  the  New  York  legislature  providing  for 
reducing  the  tax  on  buildings  to  one  half  the  rate 
on  land,  the  reduction  to  be  gradual  and  to  be  at 
the  rate  of  10  per  cent,  a  year  for  five  years.  Such 
a  measure  has  been  adopted  in  Pennsylvania,  limited 
in  its  operation  to  Pittsburgh  and  Scranton.  By 
referendum  vote  the  people  of  Everett,  Wash., 
abolished  the  taxation  of  improvements  altogether 
by  the  following  city  ordinance: 

"The  assessment,  levy  and  collection  of  taxes 
on  real  and  personal  property  for  all  corporate  or 
municipal  purposes  of  the  city  of  Everett,  and  to 
provide  for  the  payment  of  the  debts  and  expenses 
thereof,  shall  be  uniform  in  respect  to  persons  and 
property  therein :  Provided,  that  for  the  years  1912 
and  1913  there  shall  be  exempt  from  such  taxation 
25  per  cent.,  and  for  the  year  1915,  50  per  cent.,  and 


364  THE  MODERN  CITY 

for  the  year  1916,  75  per  cent.,  and  thereafter  100 
per  cent.,  of  the  value  of  all  buildings,  structures 
and  improvements,  and  other  fixtures  of  whatsoever 
kind  upon  land  within  said  city.  Nothing  herein 
shall  affect  property  in  said  city  exempt  from  t 
ation  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Washington." 

Pueblo,  Colo.,  adopted  a  similar  measure  at  a 
popular  election  in  1913. 
German  Experience. 

Germany  has  adopted  another  method  of  taxing 
land  values  under  what  is  known  as  the  Wertzu- 
wachssteuer,  or  unearned-increment  tax.  In  1898 
Germany  acquired  the  harbor  of  Kiauchau  from 
China,  and  upon  its  acquisition  it  was  provided  that 
purchasers  of  land  should  pay  into  the  city  treasury 
a  tax  amounting  to  33  per  cent,  of  the  increased 
value  which  came  to  the  land  by  virtue  of  the  growth 
of  the  community.  The  new  tax  was  so  successful 
that  in  1904  Frankfort-on-the-Main  adopted  an  un- 
earned-increment tax  by  which  the  profits  of  land 
speculators  are  taxed  at  from  1  to  25  per  cent.,  de- 
pending upon  the  sue  of  the  profits  and  the  time 
within  \\hi.-h  they  are  realised.  Following  this 
example,  community  after  community  adopted  the 
unearned-increment  tax,  until  by  April,  1910, 
German  cities  and  towns  had  accepted  it.  Finally, 
in  1  iU  1,  the  Reichstag  converted  the  local  unean 
increment  tax  into  an  imperial  tax  and  made  it 
apply  to  all  cities  and  towns  within  the  empire. 
The  land  is  periodically  revalued  and  the  owner  is 
compelled  to  pay  a  tax  of  from  10  to  30  per  cent 


NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE       365 

upon  the  increase  in  value  which  takes  place  in  the 
interim.  The  receipts  from  the  tax  are  then  divided 
between  the  empire,  the  state,  and  the  city.1 

Summary. 

Increasing  municipal  expenditures  have  greatly 
increased  the  burden  of  taxation  and  rendered  it 
necessary  to  seek  new  sources  of  revenue  for  meeting 
the  city's  needs.  This  increase  is  likely  to  continue 
in  the  future  as  it  has  in  the  past,  and  to  meet  this 
increase  new  revenues  are  being  sought  by  special 
assessments  upon  property  benefited,  by  excess  con- 
demnation, and  by  the  taxation  of  land  values.  All 
of  these  expedients  look  to  the  increased  taxation  of 
land  as  a  source  of  municipal  revenue.  The  use  of 
special  assessments  is  being  extended  as  a  means  of 
paying  for  parks,  playgrounds,  and  civic  centres;  it 
is  being  urged  as  a  means  of  paying  for  water-mains 
and  transportation  lines.  Excess  condemnation,  or 
the  acquisition  of  more  land  than  is  needed  for  a 
public  purpose,  is  being  urged  for  the  same  reasons, 
and  constitutional  amendments  have  been  secured 
in  many  States  for  this  purpose. 

The  taxation  of  land  values  is  being  urged  in  a 
dozen  States  not  only  as  a  fiscal  but  as  a  social 
measure.  Advocates  of  this  reform  point  to  the 
rapid  increase  in  urban  land  values  as  a  reason  for 
their  higher  taxation,  and  permissive  legislation  for 
this  purpose  is  being  urged  in  New  York,  Colorado, 
California,  and  other  Western  States.  Advocates 
of  the  taxation  of  land  values  urge  that  land  values 
are  a  social  product  and  should  be  taken  by  the  com- 
munity for  its  local  needs.  They  point  to  the  suc- 
cess of  experiments  in  Canada,  Australia,  and  Ger- 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  German  tax,  see  European  Cities  at 
Work,  by  the  author. 


366  THE  MODERN  CITY 

many  as  justification  of  this  new  policy,  in  which 
countries  various  expedients  have  been  adopted  for 
th'  i: -reased  taxation  of  land  values  and  the  con- 
sequent reduction  of  the  burdens  upon  improvements 
and  other  forms  of  currently  created  wealth. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
CONCLUSION 

FROM  the  preceding  analysis  of  the  city  several 
things  are  manifest.  In  the  first  place,  the  modern 
city  is  a  new  thing  to  the  world.  It  has  no  proto- 
type in  history.  The  cities  of  ancient  and  mediaeval 
times  were  capitals  or  trading  centres;  they  were 
organized  on  a  slave  or  a  class  basis;  their  free  pop- 
ulation was  relatively  small,  while  the  government 
was  in  the  hands  of  an  aristocratic  class.  The 
modern  city,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  industrial 
product;  it  came  upon  us  unprepared  for  its  coming. 
Only  within  the  past  few  years  have  we  gotten  over 
the  surprise  at  its  growth  and  only  recently  have 
we  begun  to  accept  it  as  a  permanent  thing.  The 
city  is  no  longer  an  incident,  it  is  the  controlling  force 
in  modern  civilization.  Already  it  contains  nearly 
one  half  of  the  population  in  America  and  Germany, 
while  in  Great  Britain  80  per  cent,  of  the  people  live 
under  urban  surroundings. 

The  newness  of  the  city  is  one  explanation  of  our 
failures.  In  addition,  our  traditions  were  those  of 
an  agricultural  people  while  our  political  institu- 
tions were  designed  for  agricultural  needs.  They 
were  not  suited  to  great  urban  aggregations  of  peo- 
ple whose  life  was  closely  inter-related  and  whose 

367 


3GS  THE  MODERN  CITY 

comfort,  convenience,  and  safety  necessitated  com- 
munity control  over  the  aggressions  of  private  in- 
terests and  the  performance  of  many  functions  not 
possible  under  rural  conditions.  Not  only  was  the 
charter  inadequate  to  these  new  emergencies, 
but  our  constitutions  and  laws,  the  decisions  of  the 
courts,  and  the  public  opinion  which  sanctioned  them 
were  unfitted  to  the  easy  control  of  the  problems 
h  a  highly  complex  industrial  life  involved. 
Three  centuries  of  agricultural  traditions  had  so 
moulded  our  political  institutions  that  we  were  un- 
able to  cope  with  the  city  and  provide  for  its  needs 
when  it  came  upon  us. 
The  Cost  of  Individualism. 

As  a  consequence  of  these  traditions  individualism 
has  been  the  prevailing  note  in  our  politics.  It  re- 
flected our  frontier  life  and  the  lai**e*~]airt  philoso- 
phy which  we  inherited  from  Great  Britain.  This 
philosophy  was  sanctioned  by  the  university  and  the 
press,  by  statesmen  and  the  universal  opinion  of 
the  nation.  We  distrusted  the  State  and  the  city 
and  refused  to  intrust  them  with  power.  Individual- 
ism has  been  carried  to  such  an  extreme  that  the 
establishment  of  a  proper  balance  between  public 
and  private  rights  has  involved  tremendous  costs 
to  the  community  as  well  as  administrative  and 
political  confusion  i  State,  and  nation. 

This  exaggerated  individualism  is  reflected  not 
only  in  the  political  machinery  but  in  the  physical 
side  of  the  city  as  well.  Because  of  a  distrust  of 
democracy  on  the  one  hand  and  officials  on  the 


CONCLUSION  369 

other,  the  city  was  unable  to  control  the  private 
interests  which  became  more  powerful  than  the  com- 
munity itself.  This  was  especially  true  of  the  public- 
utility  corporations,  of  land  speculators  and  builders. 
And  it  is  on  its  physical  side  that  the  city  has  most 
signally  failed.  It  is  here  that  our  most  costly 
failures  are  recorded.  In  this  field,  too,  the  heaviest 
burdens  have  been  incurred  for  posterity. 

This  is  the  underlying  explanation  of  the  Amer- 
ican city.  It  is  not  the  voter,  not  the  people,  who 
are  primarily  at  fault,  but  institutions,  traditions, 
and  public  opinion  which  have  failed  to  keep  pace 
with  the  problems  we  have  been  called  upon  to  face. 

The  Changing  View-Point. 

But  our  point  of  view  is  rapidly  changing  as  is 
our  social  psychology.  We  are  abandoning  the 
laissez-faire  distrust  of  the  State  and  are  acquiring 
a  belief  in  democracy.  The  city  reflects  this  new 
point  of  view  even  more  markedly  than  does  the 
nation.  And  as  a  first  step  in  the  establishment  of  a 
proper  balance  municipal  charters  are  being  adopted 
which  abandon  the  traditional  theory  of  American 
politics  of  divided  responsibility  and  checks  and 
balances.  City  charters  are  being  rapidly  democ- 
ratized. Already  nearly  four  hundred  cities  have 
adopted  the  most  democratic  machinery  of  any 
municipalities  in  the  world.  The  commission  form 
of  government  and  the  federal  plan  adopted  by  our 
larger  cities  are  both  responsive  and  responsible. 
They  are  adjusted  to  the  easy  expression  of  the 
popular  will  and  the  popular  control  of  administra- 


370  THE  MODERN  CITY 

live  and  legislative  officials.  Along  with  this  has 
gone  simple,  direct  methods  of  nomination  and  elec- 
tion as  well  as  the  short  ballot  and  the  divorce  of 
city  from  the  State  and  national  elections.  This  re- 
duced the  burden  on  the  electorate.  It  made  it  pos- 
sible for  the  voter  himself  to  select  his  representatives 
rather  than  to  delegate  that  selection  to  the  boss 
and  the  political  machine  through  which,  by  reason 
of  the  confusion,  the  voter  has  been  compdled  to  act 
By  reason  of  the  initiative,  referendum,  and  recall 
the  city  has  been  still  further  democratised.  Thrall 
these  agencies  abuses  of  political  power  and  corrup- 
tion and  the  exploitation  of  the  city  by  privileged 
interests  have  been  checked,  while  new  ideas  are  be- 
ing promoted. 

Along  with  this  the  State  is  loosening  its  hold 
upon  the  city.  Home  rule  is  being  granted.  This 
movement  has  not  extended  very  far  as  yet;  only  a 
few  of  our  States  have  permitted  the  community  to 
determine  for  itself  as  to  its  form  of  government 
And  none  of  oar  States  have  completely  emancipated 
the  cities  as  to  the  activities  they  shall  undertake 
and  the  functions  they  shall  perform.  We  are  still 
fearful  of  ourselves  and  are  still  too  solicitous  of  the 
righto  of  private  property.  In  many  States  cities 
are  permitted  to  engage  in  certain  public-utility  ac- 
ties  and  to  regulate  private  property  under  the 
police  power.  But  no  State  has  freed  the  city  as 
has  Germany;  no  State  has  extended  the  sovereign 
right  to  the  community  to  determine  for  itself  how 
far  it  shall  proceed  in  the  processes  of  sorfsliistinn; 


CONCLUSION  371 

as  to  how  its  taxes  shall  be  collected  and  the  extent 
to  which  it  shall  use  its  credit  for  the  promotion  of 
its  life.  In  addition,  the  city  is  still  under  the  re- 
straints of  the  constitution  and  the  courts  in  its 
attempts  to  control  private  property  in  the  public 
interest. 

The  Necessity  for  Further  Freedom. 

Without  these  powers  of  control,  of  public  owner- 
ship and  of  financial  autonomy,  the  city  will  remain 
helpless  before  the  problems  which  confront  it.  It 
cannot  build,  cannot  plan,  cannot  protect  itself  from 
the  aggressions  of  privileged  wealth.  These  problems 
cannot  be  corrected  by  the  State  and  they  cannot 
be  corrected  in  the  same  way  by  all  cities.  Still 
further  extension  of  power  must  be  granted  before 
our  cities  will  be  able  to  develop  in  a  big,  construct- 
ive way. 

Freedom  is  the  first  need  of  the  city.  Through 
it  a  new  psychology,  a  new  city  patriotism,  a  new 
city  sense  will  be  created.  Through  freedom  to 
experiment  variety  will  be  substituted  for  uniform- 
ity, while  a  new  sense  of  affection  will  lead  to  an 
awakening  in  municipal  politics  and  to  constructive 
policies  of  city  building. 

The  City  and  Co-operation. 

The  survey  of  the  city  further  shows  that  munic- 
ipal well-being  is  in  direct  ratio  to  the  increase  of 
co-operation,  whether  voluntary  or  compulsory.  It 
is  voluntary  in  the  division  of  labor,  the  specializa- 
tion of  talents,  and  the  increase  in  wealth,  which 
come  through  these  processes.  It  is  compulsory 


372  THE  MODERN  CITY 

where  the  services  have  been  undertaken  by  the  com- 
munity itself.    Necessity  led  to  the  first  steps  in 
compulsory  co-operation,  necessity  for  protection, 
for  health,  for  education,  for  the  elementary  services 
which  have  become  a  commonplace  in  every  <• 
he  most  backward  city  is  socialised  to  a 
markable  degree  in  comparison  with  the  coui 
districts;  it  performs  a  multitude  of  services  which 
to  our  forefathers  were  unknown.    And  these  act 
ties  are  constantly  increasing,  usually  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  entire  community.    And  each  new 
advance,  each  new  activity,  adds  to  the  corof 
convenience,  and  happiness  of  living. 

Socialization  involved  the  building  of  streets  and 
sewers,  the  maintenance  of  police  and  fire  depart- 
ments, all  of  which  reduce  the  dangers  and  burdens 
of  urban  life.  They  made  security  possible,  pro- 
moted health  as  well  as  the  freedom  of  the  individual 
in  every  walk  of  life.  Socialization  brought  schools. 
Education,  culture,  and  the  refinements  of  life 
begin  to  appear.  AD  of  these  gains  were  the  fruit* 
of  co-operation.  They  could  not  have  existed  with- 
out it.  Other  functions  were  sdded.  The  health 
department*  have  grown  until  they  touch  the  life 
of  th<  (iti7.cn  in  countless  unseen  ways.  Through 
public  sanitation  the  city  has  become  far  more 
healthy  than  the  country  districts. 

These  are  the  simplest  forms  of  community  co- 
operation. As  to  their  propriety  there  is  little  dis- 
pute. We  now  accept  these  services  ss  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world.  And  co-operation  win 


CONCLUSION  373 

continue  to  encroach  into  other  fields.    It  will  con- 
tinue to  crowd  out  private  initiative. 
New  Ideas  of  Municipal  Service. 

The  city  is  beginning  to  enter  the  industrial  field, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  making  profits  but  for  the 
purpose  of  community  service.  Water-plants  are 
generally  owned  by  the  city.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  municipal  business.  Cities  then  entered  the 
electric-lighting  business.  Street-railways  and  gas 
companies  are  still  in  private  hands,  but  a  number  of 
cities  are  experimenting  in  this  field  as  well.  We 
are  coming  to  realize  that  the  public-utility  services 
are  so  essentially  public  in  their  nature  that  they 
cannot  with  safety  be  left  in  private  hands. 

This  programme  of  industrial  co-operation  is 
known  as  municipal  ownership  in  America,  munic- 
ipal trading  in  Great  Britain,  and  municipal  social- 
ism in  Germany,  in  which  latter  country  it  has  been 
carried  into  many  fields.  And  there  is  no  means  of 
telling  where  the  movement  will  stop.  It  knows  no 
set  limits,  no  a  priori  confines.  But  as  public 
opinion  becomes  more  articulate,  as  the  poverty, 
inconveniences,  and  unjust  distribution  of  wealth  be- 
come more  apparent,  the  city  will  undoubtedly  aim 
at  their  correction.  Already  it  is  recognized  that 
vice  and  crime  are  largely  social.  They  are  trace- 
able to  low  wages,  irregular  employment,  bad  hous- 
ing, inadequate  education.  And  they  can  only  be 
corrected  by  changing  the  social  conditions  which 
produce  these  evils.  And  this  can  only  be  done  by 
the  further  widening  of  the  community's  activities, 


374  THE  MODERN  CITY 

by  the  further  socializing  of  municipal  activities,  by 
continued  intrusion  into  the  field  of  private  enter- 
prise. 

A  survey  of  the  cities  of  America,  and  particularly 
those  of  Europe,  demonstrates  that  those  cities  are 
best  governed,  are  most  comfortable  and  beautiful, 
that  have  carried  the  process  of  socialization  fur- 
thest. The  German  city  is  recognized  as  the  most 
advanced  in  the  world,  not  only  in  its  administra- 
tion but  in  the  comfort  and  general  well-being  of  its 
citizens.  And  the  German  cities  not  only  own  the 
public  service  corporations,  they  have  added  many 
other  services,  such  as  abattoirs  and  markets,  as  a 
means  of  cutting  down  the  cost  of  living  and  insur- 
ing the  supply  of  clean  and  wholesome  food.  Sav- 
ings-banks and  pawn-shops  are  maintained  for  the 
poor.  The  city  loans  its  credit  for  the  building  of 
working-men's  houses;  it  buys  land  and  co-operates 
in  the  erection  of  model  apartments.  The  German 
city,  despite  the  fact  that  it  is  governed  by  business 
men  with  no  sympathy  for  socialism,  has  carried 
co-operation  further  than  any  city  in  the  world. 

The  Need  of  City  Planning. 

City  building  is  the  next  and  most  important  step. 
It  is  positive,  constructive,  and,  in  a  sense,  final. 
It  involves  planning  the  city  as  a  unit,  as  a  whole, 
as  an  architect  plans  a  building.  It  involves  a  new 
vision  of  the  city  in  which  all  property  will  be  sub- 
ject to  the  community.  It  involves,  too,  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  city  as  a  sovereign  political  agency. 

And  as  we  come  to  visualize  the  city  as  an  agency 


CONCLUSION  375 

of  service  we  will  acquire  many  things  now  in 
private  hands.  We  will  have  to  take  over  the  water- 
fronts, erect  docks  and  harbors,  and  acquire  the 
means  of  transportation  not  only  for  the  promotion 
of  industry  but  for  the  service  of  the  people.  Other 
public-service  utilities,  like  gas,  water,  and  electric- 
lighting  activities  are  part  of  the  circulatory  system 
of  the  community  and  should  be  owned  and  oper- 
ated by  it.  Provision  will  have  to  be  made  for  ter- 
minals; in  the  larger  cities  for  subways  or  elevated 
roads.  Markets  must  be  provided  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  consumer,  while  adequate  provision 
must  be  made  for  recreation  and  the  leisure  life  of 
the  people. 

All  of  these  agencies  must  be  owned  by  and  made 
a  part  of  the  city  rather  than  remain  in  private 
hands.  It  will  be  necessary  to  relieve  congestion, 
to  provide  parks,  play-places,  and  sites  for  public 
buildings,  the  cost  of  which  might  have  been  saved 
had  foresight  been  shown  in  the  original  plans. 

All  this  involves  a  new  ideal  of  the  city,  a  new-s/ 
sense  of  the  obligations  and  possibilities  of  organized 
government.  Solicitude  for  people  will  take  the 
place  of  solicitude  for  property;  the  ideal  of  human 
welfare  will  be  substituted  for  the  ideal  of  economy. 
The  measure  of  the  city  of  to-morrow  will  be  the 
service  it  renders  to  the  people. 

And,  despite  the  magnitude  of  the  programme, 
evidences  are  not  wanting  that  the  American  city 
will  be  equal  to  its  task.  Public  opinion  is  coming  to 
protest  against  the  misery,  suffering,  and  poverty 


376  THE  MODERN  CITY 

which  the  coming  of  the  city  has  brought  in  its  train. 
And  to  meet  these  new  burdens  new  sources  of  rev- 
enue are  being  sought,  and  they  are  being  found  in 
the  increasing  urban  land  values,  a  natural  source 
from  which  additional  and  adequate  revenues  can 
be  derived.  Land  values  increase  with  the  growth 
of  population  and  reflect  every  advance  of  the  com- 
munity. Public  improvements  add  to  their  value 
as  do  the  improvements  in  the  public  service.  Land 
values  are  a  social  treasure  awaiting  taxation  by  the 
community  for  carrying  forward  a  new  civilization 
which  will  minimize  the  sacrifices  which  the  coming 
of  the  city  has  entailed  and  socialize  the  wealth  which 
is  now  enjoyed  by  the  few. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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CITY 

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377 


378  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

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My  Story,  Tom  L.  Johnson. 

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Readings  on  Parties  and  Elections,  C.  L.  Jones. 

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III.    RECENT  CHARTER  CHANGES 

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ford. 

Government  by  Commission,  John  J.  Hamilton. 

The  New  City  Government,  Henry  Bruere. 

Short  Ballot  Principles,  Richard  S.  Childs. 

City  Government  by  Commission,  Clinton  Rogers  Woodruff. 

IV.    GOVERNMENT  OF  EUROPEAN  CITIES 

The  Government  of  European  Cities,  W.  B.  Munro. 
Municipal  Government  in  Continental  Europe,  Albert  Shaw. 
Municipal  Government  in  Great  Britain,  Albert  Shaw. 
European  Cities  at  Work,  Frederic  C.  Howe. 
The  British  City,  Frederic  C.  Howe. 
Kommunales  Jahrbuch,  Berlin. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  379 

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of  American  Academy  of  Political  Science,  May,  1900, 

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V.    THE  CITY  AND  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE 
CORPORATION 

Municipal  Franchise*,  Delos  F.  Wilcox. 

"The  Control  of  Municipal  Public  Sen-ice  Corporations," 

American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sciences. 
The  Regulation  of  Municipal  Utilities,  Clyde  L.  King. 
The  City,  the  Hope  of  Democracy,  Frederic  C.  Howe. 
My  Story,  Tom  L.  Johnson. 
Current  Magazines,  1910-1914. 
Municipal  Control  of  Public  Utilities,  O.  L.  Pond. 

VI.    MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP 

Municipal  Ownership,  Major  Leonard  Darwin. 
Selected  Articles  on  Municipal  Ownership,  E.  D.  Bullock. 
The  Common  Sense  of  Municipal  Trading,  Bernard  Shaw. 
The  Dangers  of  Municipal  Ownership,  Robert  P.  Porter. 
Municipal  Trade,  Leonard  Darwin. 
Municipal  Trading  in  Great  Britain,  W.  R.  Smith. 
The  City,  the  Hope  of  Democracy,  Frederic  C.  Howe. 
The  British  City,  the  Beginnings  of  Democracy,  Frederic  C. 
Howe. 


380  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

European  Cities  at  Work,  Frederic  C.  Howe. 
Municipal  Year  Book,  London. 
Kommunales  Jahrbuch,  Berlin. 
Reports  National  Civic  Federation. 
Municipal  Journal,  London. 

VII.  TOWN  PLANNING  IN  AMERICA 

"National  Conference  on  City  Planning,"  Annual  Reports, 
1909-1914. 

Introduction  to  City  Planning,  Benjamin  C.  Marsh. 

Re-Planning  Small  Cities,  John  Nolen. 

The  Improvement  of  Towns  and  Cities,  Charles  Mulford  Rob- 
inson. 

Modern  Civic  Art,  Charles  Mulford  Robinson. 

City  Planning,  Frank  Koester. 

Reports  of  Individual  Cities. 

See  selected  list  of  works  relating  to  city  planning  and 

allied  topics,  published  by  the  New  York  Public  Library, 

and  check  list  of  references  on  city  planning,  Library  of 

Congress. 

VIII.  TOWN  PLANNING  IN  EUROPE 

Housing,  Town  Planning,  Act  of  1909,  S.  P.  Taylor. 

Civic  Art,  Thomas  H.  Mawson. 

Town  Planning  Conference,  London,  1910. 

Town  Planning,  Past,  Present,  and  Possible,  H.  Inigo  Triggs. 

Town  Planning  and  Practice,  Raymond  Unwin. 

City  Planning,  Frank  Koester. 

Der  St'ddtebau,  Berlin. 

IX.  GUARDING  THE  CITY— POLICE 

Police  Administration,  L.  F.  Fuld. 

"The  Organization  of  Police  Forces,"  National  Municipal 
League  Proceedings,  1910,  L.  F.  Fuld. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  381 

Police  Systems  in  Europe,  R.  B.  Fosdick. 

"  Police  System  of  London,"  American  Academy  of  Political 

and  Social  Science,  November,  1904,  H.  M.  Adler. 
Government  of  England,  A.  Lawrence  Lowell. 
Great  Cities  in  America,  Delos  F.  Wilcox. 

X.    HEALTH  AND  SANITATION 

Ci>ic»  and  Health,  William  H.  Allen. 

"The  Public  Health  Movement,  1911,"  American  Academy 

of  Political  and  Social  Science. 

American  Public  Health  Association,  Annual  Reports. 
Public  Hygiene,  Thomas  S.  Blair,  M.D. 
Health  and  Medical  Inspection  of  School  Children,  Walter  S. 

Cornell,  M  I> 
Medical  Inspection  of  Schools,  Luther  H.  Gulick  and  Leonard 

P.  A  yres. 
The  Milk  Question,  M.  J.  Roaenau. 

XI.  MARKETS 

Municipal  Markets,  J.  W.  Sullivan. 
Municipal  Market  Policy,  Cyrus  C.  Miller. 
Municipal  Markets  and  Slaughter  Houses  in  Europe,  De- 
partment of  Commerce  and  Labor,  Washington. 

XII.  HOUSING 

The  Garden  City  Movement  up  to  Date,  Ewart  G.  Culpin. 

Garden  Cities  of  To-Morrow,  Ebenczer  Howard. 

The   Tenement  House  Problem,  Robert  W.  de  Forest  and 

Lawrence  Veillrr. 

Model  Building  Code,  V.  \\.  Fitzpatrick. 
The  Improvement  of  the  Dwellings  and  Surroundings  of  the 

People  :  the  Example  of  Germany,  T.  C.  Horsfall. 
International  Housing  Congress,  Report  of  the  Ninth,  held  in 

Vienna,  1910. 
"  National  Housing  Association,"  Annual  Reports,  New  York. 


382  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  Battle  with  the  Slum,  Jacob  A.  Riis. 

Housing  Reform,  Lawrence  Veiller. 

Housing  Problem  in  England,  E.  R.  Dewsnup. 

XIII.    RECREATION 

The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets,  Jane  Addams. 

"  Public  Recreation  Facilities,"  American  Academy  of  Political 
and  Social  Science. 

The  Child  in  the  Shadow,  Ernest  K.  Coulter. 

The  Boy  and  His  Gang,  J.  Adams  Puffer. 

Child  Labor  in  City  Streets,  Edward  N.  Klopper. 

The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children,  John  Spargo. 

Civic  Theatre,  Percy  Mackaye. 

The  Social  Center,  E.  A.  Ward. 

American  Playgrounds,  Edward  B.  Mero. 

Wider  Use  of  the  School  Plant,  Clarence  A.  Perry. 

Improvement  of  Towm  and  Cities,  Charles  Mulford  Robinson. 

The  Playground  and  Recreation  Association  of  America,  Re- 
ports of. 

Russell  Sage  Foundation,  Reports  of. 

Social  and  Recreation  Centers,  Clarence  A.  Perry. 

XIV.    MUNICIPAL  FINANCES 

Chapters    on    Municipal    Administration    and    Accounting, 

Frederic  A.  Cleveland. 
Handbook  of  Municipal  Accounting,  Metz  Fund,  New  York 

Bureau  of  Municipal  Research. 
Introduction  to  Public  Finance,  Carl  C.  Plehn. 
Essays  in  Taxation,  Edwin  R.  A.  Seligman. 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Taxation,  David  A.  Wells. 
Taxation  in  American  States  and  Cities,  Richard  T.  Ely. 
Public  Debts,  H.  C.  Adams. 

Reports  of  the  Boston  Finance  Commission,  Boston,  1908-1912. 
"  Municipal  Accounts  and  Statistics  in  Continental  Europe/' 

J.  A.  Fairlie,  in  National  Municipal  League  Proceedings, 

1901. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  383 

XV.    NEW  SOURCES  OF  CITY  REVENUE 

The  A.  B.  C.  of  Taxation,  C.  B.  Fillebrown. 

Taxation  of  Land  Values  in  American  Cities,  the  Next  Step  in 
Exterminating  Poverty,  Benjamin  C.  Marsh. 

Taxation  of  Land  Values,  John  Orr. 

A  Treatise  on  the  Law  of  Taxation  by  Local  and  Special  Assess- 
ments, Paul  Jones. 

The  Taxation  of  Land  Values,  Louis  F.  Post. 

Natural  Taxation,  Thomas  G.  Sherman. 

"The  New  Unearned  Increment  Taxes  in  Germany," 
Robert  C.  Brooks  (Yale  Review,  November,  1907),  and 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  August,  1911;  also, 
Daily  Consular  and  Trade  Report,  June  22,  1912. 


INDEX 


Addams,  Jane,  305 
Administration,      in     mediaeval 

town,   29;   simplicity   of,    in 

Great  Britain,  135 
Administrative  control  in  Great 

Britain,  143 

Aldermen  in  Great  Britain,  133 
Aliens  in  American  city,  42 
American  city,  foreign-born  pop- 
ulation of,  42;  helplessness  of, 

206 

Appropriations,  how  made,  327 
Architecture  in  Greek  cities,  17 
Athens,  10,  12-19;  population, 

12;  caste  in,  15;  slavery  in,  18; 

plan  of,  211 

B 

Ballot,  short,  106 

Baths,  public,  in  Rome,  21 

Berlin,  bousing  in,  300 

Board  plan  in  cities,  80 

Boas,  the,  94 

Budget,  city,  322;  exhibit  in 
New  York,  329 

BudgrUry  improvements,  828 

Buildings,  control  of,  222 

Burdens,  increasing  financial,  of 
city,  346 

Bureaus,  of  municipal  research, 
55;  New  York,  330;  of  econ- 
omy and  efficiency,  Milwau- 
kee, 329 

Burgomaster,  in  Germany,  119; 
salaries  paid,  in  Germany,  120 

Business,  control  of  cities  by,  91 ; 
taxes  in  Germany,  339 


Canada,  taxation  experiments 
in,  286;  experience  in  taxing 
land  values,  359 

Capitalization,  public  and  pri- 
vate plants,  167 

Caste  in  Athens,  15 

Chamberlain,  Mr.  Joseph,  137 

Charters,  American,  60;  city,  86- 
96;  federal  plan,  98;  in  Cleve- 
land, 99;  New  York  City,  103 

Checks  and  balance*,  absence  of, 
in  Great  Britain,  134 

Chicago,  plan  of,  203;  park  cen- 
tres of ,  308 

Cities,  Greek,  14;  medieval,  24- 

Ci'ii^nH.  r.rrrk.  11 

CHbenahip  in  medieval  times, 
28 

City,  evolution  of,  24;  beginnings 
of,  35;  population  in  America 
and  Europe,  43-46;  subjection 
of,  68-71 ;  in  New  York  State, 
70;  manager  plan,  114 

City  planning,  in  America,  194; 

ranee  and  England,  217; 

meaning  of,  228;  need  of,  374 

City  state,  13 

Civilisation,  city  centre  of,  I; 
and  leisure,  319 

Class,  rule  of,  in  Germany,  127 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  charter  in,  99; 
relation  to  street-railway  com- 
panies, 173;  Golden  Rule  pol- 
icy in,  244;  correctional  ad- 
ministration, 247;  markets, 
254 

Commission  plan,  104 


38-5 


386 


INDEX 


Committee  in  British  city,  135 
Commons,  John  R.,  166 
Community  doctor,  258 
Concentration  of  population,  45 
Congestion  committee  of   New 

York,  283 
Co-operation,  city  product  of,  2; 

and  city,  371 
Co-operative   house   ownership, 

301;  house  building,  395 
Corporations  and  politics,  151 
Correctional  administration, 

Cleveland,  247 
Corruption  in  English  towns,  31 ; 

of  public  service  corporations, 

152 
Council,   city,  in  Europe,   188; 

in  Germany,  125 
Crime,  social  nature  of,  231 


Electricity  supply  in  Great  Brit- 
ain, 186 

Employees,  municipal,  in  Great 
Britain,  139 

English  system  of  local  taxa- 
tion, 343 

Ethical  gains  from  municipal 
ownership,  174 

Europe,  city  planning  in,  211; 
political  philosophy  of,  88 

Excess  condemnation,  357 

Excise  question  and  politics,  240 

Executive  officials  in  Germany, 
122 

Expenditures  in  cities,  increase 
of,  348 

Experts,  how  obtained  in  Great 
Britain,  137 

Explanation  of  city,  48 


Dance  halls  in  Chicago,  318 
Dartmouth  College  case,  151 
Democracy,  in  cities,  58;  in  com- 
mission cities,  110;  lack  of,  in 
German  cities,  129 
Dependence  of  city  on  state,  66 
Division   of   labor,    relation   to 

civilization,  2 
Docks  and  harbors,  in  Germany, 

190 

Drunkenness,    abandonment   of 
arrests  for,  245 


Efficiency,  55;  examples  of,  in 
American  city,  52;  in  New 
York,  56;  in  European  cities, 
57;  in  German  city,  124;  of 
employees  in  Great  Britain, 
140 

Elections  in  Great  Britain,  134 

Electoral  provisions  in  commis- 
sion cities,  111 

Electric-lighting  plants,  capitali- 
zation of,  167;  municipal  own- 
ership of,  169 


Failures  of  American  city,  causes 
of,  63 

Finances  of  city,  322-344 

Financial  condition  of  American 
cities,  328 

Fire  departments,  52,  236 

Food  supply,  253 

Foreign-born  population  of  Amer- 
ican cities,  42 

Forestry,  city  departments,  256 

Franchises,  influence  on  city's 
politics,  92;  how  granted  in 
Great  Britain,  144;  public  serv- 
ice corporations  in  America, 
149;  value  of,  152 

Frankfort-on-Main,  364 

Freedom,  lack  of,  in  American 
cities,  72 


Galveston,  origin  of  commission 

plan  in,  105 
Garden  city  in  Great  Britain, 

290;  health  in,  295 
Garden  suburb  in  Great  Britain, 

293 


INDEX 


387 


German  city,  82;  supervision  by 
state,  129;  municipal  admin- 
istration in,  118-131;  munic- 
ipal socialism,  188;  planning 
in,  214;  protection  of  worker 
in,  266;  planning  of,  214;  in- 
surance in,  265;  land  taxes  in, 
364;  housing  in,  291;  recogni- 
tion of  leisure  life  in,  316;  suf- 
frage in,  126;  street-railways 
in,  190;  taxation  in,  303,  338 

Grand  Junction,  Colo.,  112 

Great  Britain,  garden  city,  290; 
gas  supply  in,  187;  mayor  in, 
137;  municipal  administra- 
tion in,  132-148,  336;  nomina- 
tions in,  134;  town  clerk  in,  138 

Greek  city,  12-18 

Guilds  in  medieval  towns,  27 


m 

294 

Harbor  and  water-fronts,  90 

Health,  inspection  of,  256;  de- 
partment of,  in  New  York 
City,  236;  in  garden  city,  206 

Heney,  Francis  J.,  157 

Home  ownership,  40 

Home  rale,  definition  of,  76;  ex- 
isting limitations  on,  81 ;  finan- 
cial limitations  on,  cities,  81 ;  in 
Ohio,  77;  in  New  York,  7&- 
81;  in  Germany,  82;  move- 
ment for,  77 

Housing,  273-304;  in  indent 
Rome,  20;  in  Germany,  296; 
in  Him,  299;  municipal,  in 
Germany,  299 

Housing  problem,  causes  of,  276; 
influence  of  transportation  on, 
276;  taxation  as  a  solution  of, 
282 


Income  tax  in  German  cities,  338 
Indebtedness,   European   cities, 
334 


Individualism,  cost  of,  338 
Industrial  revolution,  30 
Initiative  and  referendum,  111 
Insurance  in  Germany,  265 
Insurance  funds  used  to  promote 

housing,  299 
Invisible    government,    94;    in 

cities,  153 


Johnson,  Tom  L.,  155,  165 
Juvenile  delinquency,  relation  to 
playgrounds,  307 


Kansas  City,  354 
Kohler,  Fred,  244 
Kropotkin,  Prince,  3 


ruaes-/asrv  philosophy,  61 
America,  368 


to  impossible,  6; 

miiN-of  hoimirtK  pmhlrm,27r>; 

relation  to  housing  problem, 

281.    See  taxation 
Landownemhip,     in     Germany, 

226;  in  Great  Britain,  337 
Land-value  taxation,  reasons  for, 

861;  New  York,  362 
Leisure,  in  modern  town,  31; 

problem  of,  316;  commercial- 
ised in  America,  317 
Leisure  life,  Rome  and  Athens, 

22 ;  recognition  of,  in  Germany, 

316 
Letchworth,  garden  city  in  Great 

Britain,  290 

Liberty,  towns,  cradle  of,  26 
Libraries,  public,  52;  school  as 

branch,  314 

License  taxes  in  Germany,  340 
Limitations  on  city  finance,  332 
Los  Angeles,  CaL,  169, 208 


388 


INDEX 


M 


Magistral,  122;  powers  of,  in 
Germany,  123 

Manager  plan  of  cities,  114 

Markets,  254 

Mayor,  position  of,  in  commis- 
sion cities,  109;  how  elected  in 
Europe,  118;  in  Great  Britain, 
137 

Mediaeval  cities,  24-33 

Middle  Ages,  towns  of,  10;  plan- 
ning of  towns  in,  212 

Milwaukee,  bureau  of  economy 
and  efficiency,  329 

Municipal  administration  in 
Great  Britain,  132-148 

Municipal  government  associa- 
tions, 70 

Municipal  government  in  Amer- 
ica, 165-175 

Municipal  ownership,  ethical 
gains  from,  147;  in  Europe, 
176-192;  of  street-railways  in 
Great  Britain,  177-185;  finan- 
cial success  of,  182 

Municipal  socialism  in  Germany, 
188 

Municipal  water-works  in  Amer- 
ica, 168 

Music,  school  as  centre  for,  314 


N 


New  York,  46;  efficiency  in,  56; 
home-rule  provisions  of,  81; 
charter  of,  103;  street  plan  of, 
196;  health  department  in, 
236;  land  values  in,  362 

Nominations  in  Great  Britain, 
134 


Ohio,  constitution  of,  77;  con- 
trol of  public  service  corpora- 
tions in,  155 


Parcel  post  in  Germany,  263 

Paris,  planning,  213 

Parks    and   boulevards, 
ments  for,  353 

Pawn-shops,  municipal,  in  Ger- 
many, 269 

Personal-property  tax,  325 

Planning,  city,  in  America,  194; 
in  France  and  England,  217; 
in  Germany,  214;  Paris,  213; 
of  streets  in  Germany,  218; 
suburban,  in  Germany,  298; 
zone  system  in,  221 

Play  directors,  309 

Playgrounds,  53;  growth  of, 
306 

Police,  administration  in  Rome, 
21;  corruption,  cause  of,  240; 
courts,  243;  department,  or- 
ganization of,  233;  methods  of 
administrative  control,  234; 
reforms  in,  237 

Political  corruption,  danger  of, 
165 

Political  equality,  Athens,  16 

Political  philosophy,  in  America, 
87;  in  Europe,  88 

Poor  relief  in  Germany,  270 

Population,  Athens,  12 

Poverty,  social  in  character,  38 

Powers  of  cities,  financial,  of 
European  cities,  334;  British 
city,  142 

Powers  of  Magistrat  in  Germany, 
123 

Preventive  medicine  in  Ger- 
many, 265 

Private  corporations,  organiza- 
tion of,  86;  parallel  to  commis- 
sion plan,  109 

Private  property,  ascendancy  of, 
62;  license  of,  198 

Privilege,  influence  of,  on  city 
administration,  59 

Progress,  municipal,  97 

Public  buildings,  grouping  of, 
205 


INDIA 


3SO 


Public  school  aa  recreation  cen- 
tre, 334 

Public  service  corporation,  and 
politics,  151;  taxation  of,  326 


Real  estate,  values  in  New  York, 

326;  taxes  in  Germany,  889 
Recreation  and  leisure,  306-321 
Regulation,    of    street-railway 

failure  of,  172;  of  tenements, 

278 
Revenue  of  city,  sources  of,  322; 

increase   of   expenditures   in 
I;  need  of,  in  cities. 


cities,  348; 

347;  new  sources  of,  348 
River  fronts,  control  of,  224 
Rome,    10,    19-22;   bousing  in 

ancient,  20;  leisure  life  in,  22; 

population  of,  19;  police  and 

health  administration  in,  21 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  868 

8 

Salaries,  sue  of,  in  Germany, 
123;  paid  burgomaster  in  Ger- 
many, 130 

on  corruption. 


San    Francisco,    street-railways 
owned  by,   170;  corporations 

in,  157 
School  architecture,  change*  in, 

•u 

Schools,  53;  new  uses  of,  313 
Short  ballot,  106 
Sites,  early  city,  9;  city,  1 1 
Slaughter-houses,  municipal,  in 

Germany,  263 
Slavery  in  Athens,  18 
Social-centre  idea,  growth  of,  311 
Socialisation  in  city,  372 
Special  assessments,  349 
State  and  city,  66 
State  interference,  effects  of,  73 
State  supervision  in  Germany, 

129 


Street-railways,  municipal  owner- 
ship of,  in  San  Francisco,  170; 
in  Great  Britain,  177-185;  in 
Germany,  190 

Streets,  importance  of,  194;  plan 
of,  195;  planning  of,  in  Ger- 
many, 218 

Subways,  increase  in  land  values 
from  building,  351 

Suffrage,  in  Germany,  126;  in 
Great  Britain,  141 

Supervision  by  state  in  Germany, 
129 

System,  the,  93 


Taxation,  social  values  of,  2; 
in  America,  54;  as  a  solution  of 
bousing  problem,  282;  in  Ger- 
many, 80S,  838;  and  asfesi 
ment,  323;  of  public  service 
corporations,  826;  European 
systems  of,  833;  in  Great 
Britain,  886;  municipal,  in 
Great  Britain,  836;  English 
system  of  local,  343;  of  tend 
Tames,  859 

Taxes,  local,  in  Great  Britain, 
141;  on  improvements,  aban- 
donment of ,  as  a  bousing  pro- 
285;  on  real  estate  in 


Tenancy,  40 

Tenements,  in  New  York,  274; 
regulation  of,  278;  new  law,  in 
New  York,  279 

Tenure,  permanency  of,  in  Eu- 
rope, 119 

Terms  of  office,  107 

Town  clerk  in  Great  Britain,  133 

Town  planning,  beginning  of, 
200;  progress  in,  202;  Wash- 
ington, 201;  in  Middle  Ages, 
212;  in  garden  city,  291 

Transportation  in  cities,  179; 
influence  on  bousing  problem, 
276 

Twentieth-century  city,  48 


390 


INDEX 


U 


Ulm,  housing  in,  299 
Unemployment,    provision    for, 

in  Germany,  268 
Urban  population,  Germany,  47 


Value  of  franchises,  152 
Vice,  administrative  control  of, 
in  Cleveland,  246 


W 

Water-fronts  and  terminals,  199 

Water-works,  extent  of  munic- 
ipal, in  United  States,  168 

Wealth,  unequal  distribution  of, 
37 

Women  in  industry,  41 

Worker,  protection  of,  in  Ger- 
many, 264,  266 

Working-men's  houses  in  garden 
city,  293 

Z 

Zone  system  in  planning,  221 


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